Obama will go to Congress on Syria

It is good that President Obama will go to Congress for approval before taking military action against Syria.  A democracy's strength comes from its ability to allow an entire People's interests to be addressed through representation, thus Congressional approval allows the representatives of all Americans to register the interests of their constituents.  That said, the recent historic tendency of Presidents to avoid taking this step leaves this new found need for Congressional oversight appearing somewhat dubious; that is, it looks like we are trying to avoid taking the plunge.  

That said, the US, French, British, and other countries are jumping the gun by turning inward for legislative approval at this time.  Before these countries move forward with military action, they need to know what type of post-military action intervention will be available, i.e a role the US is not willing or able to take on.  An adequate punitive strike will shift the dynamics of the Syrian civil war, thus blame for any failures in Syria will be placed on any country participating a military strike.  As such, this mission is a mission for the International Community, not the US and a handful of Western countries.  Consequently, Obama needs to also go to the UN and our allies individually to rally them to Syria's aid, whether or not he can get a UN resolution.  Meanwhile, if the US and the rest of the West are going to take the lead in military strikes then we need to know Syria's neighbors and other international partners are willing to help prop up the war-torn country until it can be rebuilt.  Ideally, we need to see a thorough assessment outlining the potential ripple effects of a military strike and a failed Assad regime, including a road map to reconstruction once the civil war ends that demonstrates what aid will be required.