US official: Obama won't attack Syria without Congress backing

A senior U.S. official said Friday that President Barack Obama has no intention to attack Syria without Congressional authorization.In an interview with National Public Radio, Deputy National Security Adviser Tony Blinken said despite the fact Obama "has the authority" to act on Syria without Congressional consent, "it's neither his (Obama's) desire nor intention to use that authority absent Congress backing him."The resolution to authorize a military action against Syria is having trouble gaining support in Congress, and Blinken said the White House is reaching out to lawmakers on the matter."After the events of Aug. 21 we reached out to Congress and we had conversations with members of Congress across the country and the one thing we heard from nearly all of them was that they wanted their voice heard and their votes counted," he said.The Obama administration accused the Syrian government of using chemical weapons on Aug. 21 against opposition in the suburbs of Damascus. The Syrian government denied the accusation.