At home and abroad, America's disastrous war in Iraq hangs over the debate on Syria, feeding skepticism that US military action can deliver as promised. "It's the elephant in the room," said Larry Korb, a former Pentagon official and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress....

The White House will closely examine Russia's offer to work with Syria to put its chemical weapons under international control but the U.S. Congress should still back military action to keep pressure on Damascus, a top aide said on Monday. "We want to take a hard look at the proposal,"...

The Syrian Foreign Ministry has welcomed Russia’s call to hand control over its chemical weapons to the international community, Russian state media said. “Syria Arab Republic welcomes Russia’s initiative, based on the Syrian’s government care about the lives of our people and...

Russia has asked Syria to put its chemical weapons stockpile under "international control" in a bid to avoid US military strikes, and then have them destroyed. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the offer was made during talks with his Syrian counterpart, and he hoped for a quick response...