Deputy NSA Advisor Blinken: President Obama Won't Strike Without Congressional Approval

From NPR Morning Edition

Deputy National Security Advisor Tony Blinken said Friday that it's neither President Barack Obama's "desire nor his intention" to strike Syria without Congressional approval.

Speaking on NPR's Morning Edition, Blinken said the president "has the authority to act, but it's neither his desire nor his intention to use that authority absent Congress backing him."

Blinken also commented on what the proposed operation is and what it is not:

[BLINKEN:] What this is is a very targeted, very focused, but we believe effective use of force to deal with the fact that chemical weapons were used, and to try to make sure that Assad doesn't use them again, or that it's more difficult for him to use them again if he tries.[...]

BLINKEN: What it's not is boots-on-the-ground. What it's not is open-ended. What it's not is Iraq, Afghanistan, or even what we saw in Libya.