Even if Assad sincerely wants to give them up, we can't afford to take his word for it, and there is no way to verify he has done so while there's a war going on over there.

There is only one way this can be realistically resolved now, short of a strike which it seems Congress and the American people will not tolerate. We issue Assad an ultimatum that if he ever uses chems again, he can expect we will hit him with the full shock and awe treatment, no questions asked. The Congress has to back the President up on that, too, and ratify it. No one else need be consulted. Screw the Russians and the UN.

No matter what Assad says we declare publicly our intention to do so anyway at the first sign of chemical warfare on his part, and make sure the Congress gives the President the authority to do so at his discretion, immediately. This time there will be no last minute surprises. Yeah, I know its a blank check, but with a little luck it will never have to be cashed.

This is the only way I can see that the nation's reluctance to go to war is respected, Obama follows the constitution, the staus quo in Syria is not disrupted by external meddling, and others contemplating the use of NBC weapons will know we mean business.

I don't see how Congress could deny that authority when we have already given Assad two warnings, which is more than fair. If we don't strike him out if he swings a third time no one will believe anything we say.

If Congress refuses to support the President, then there's nothing we can do but pick up our marbles and retreat to Fortress America.