Adelson New Obama Ally as Jewish Groups Back Syria Strike
By Julie Bykowicz and Jonathan D. Salant - Sep 4, 2013
Lobbying on Syria has inspired coalitions of the unlikely, aligning President Barack Obama with Sheldon Adelson, the Republican billionaire who spent about $70 million trying to defeat him last year, in the push for a military response to the use of chemical weapons.
Opponents of U.S. military intervention in the civil war-torn Middle Eastern country include Occupy Wall Street, which protests against Wall Street profits; Code Pink, an anti-war group; and the Russians.
Interest groups and activists are ratcheting up their advocacy ahead of the Sept. 9 return of Congress to Washington, when lawmakers will take up Obamas request for authorization of a limited military strike. The request came after U.S. officials concluded that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assads regime on Aug. 21 fired chemical weapons into rebel-held areas near Damascus that killed more than 1,400 people, including 400 children.
For our credibility, we have to do something, said Morris Amitay, founder of the pro-Israel Washington Political Action Committee.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-04/adelson-new-obama-ally-as-jewish-groups-back-syria-strike.html