WASHINGTON (AP) — Any U.S. strikes against the Syrian regime in retaliation for an alleged chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians are not expected before next week when Congress gets back from summer recess.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama continues to try to get House and Senate members to support such an attack.

Obama meets today with members of House and Senate committees and his secretary of state, defense secretary and joint chiefs chairman plan to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. There's also a classified briefing with Congress.

Sen. John McCain says he will support President Barack Obama's request to intervene in Syria if the move would "reverse the situation on the battlefield."

McCain tells NBC's "Today" show it isn't sufficient to merely send a strong message to President Bashar Assad with a limited-range response. McCain says a resolution of intervention must include authority to degrade Syria's air defenses. The Arizona Republican says "it's an unfair fight" on the ground and that Assad has the upper hand.

McCain says if the authorization doesn't change the balance of power and give the rebels a fighting chance, then it "will not have the desired effect."

He says he supports giving Obama authority to act against Assad but that he "cannot support something that might be doomed in the long run."

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