Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — Leading members of the Senate have drafted a scenario for U.S. military intervention in Syria.

Three leading senators, two of them committee chairs, have urged President Barack Obama to order an ambitious U.S. intervention to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The senators said Washington must organize military operations to maintain a no-fly zone, secure Assad’s chemical weapons facilities and protect civilians.

“If Assad continues to turn the tide in this conflict, the consequences for U.S. national security interests would be disastrous. An Assad victory would dramatically increase the flow of refugees into Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon, which are already straining under the current demand,” a letter by the senators to Obama said.

On June 18, Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Sen. Carl Levin, the ranking Republican, Sen. John McCain, and Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Sen. Robert Menendez urged Obama to provide rapid and significant military support to Sunni rebels. The senators said the Sunni revolt was threatened by massive military support from Iran and Russia.

In May, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted what was termed robust lethal assistance to vetted opposition units in Syria. The letter said the conflict in Syria has reached a “critical juncture,” with the deployment of thousands of Hizbullah fighters and heavy air and armored strikes.

“For all of these reasons, the United States must take more decisive
military actions in Syria to change the balance of power on the ground
against Assad,” the report said.

[On June 22, 11 Arab and Western countries pledged to supply military
aid to the Syrian rebels. The pledge, issued at a meeting in Qatar, did not
commit any of the countries.]

In May 2013, the Syrian Air Force conducted at least 500 strikes on
rebel and civilian targets, the letter said. The senators said the air force
flew several hundred flights to transport Hizbullah and other regime
fighters around the country.

The senators, who face a bill to outlaw American military aid to the
rebels, said the U.S. military must erode Assad’s air and missile
capabilities. They said Obama should order operations that would destroy
Syrian Air Force bases, fighter-jets and helicopters.

“At the same time, the conflict in Syria is deteriorating so
dramatically that providing arms to the opposition alone is unlikely to
shift the military balance of power against Assad,” the letter said. “We
must also degrade Assad’s ability to use air power and ballistic missiles
against civilian populations and opposition forces in Syria.”

“Such actions could include the targeting of regime airfields, runways,
and aircraft on the ground, which would also limit Assad’s ability to
transport and resupply his ground forces and those of his allies by air,” the senators said. “Finally, as part of this military effort, we encourage you to take steps to support the Syrian political and
military opposition in creating and defending safe zones inside Syria where
they can better organize and unify their efforts.”

  Bashar Assad, Menendez and Levin call for ‘decisive’ U.S. intervention in Syria, Sen. Carl Levin, Sen. John McCain, Sen. Robert Menendez, Senators McCain