epa03860978 US Secretary of State John Kerry (L), along with Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel (C), and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey (R), testifies before a House Armed Services Committee hearing on ‘Proposed Authorization to Use Military Force in Syria’ in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 10 September 2013. The Obama administration is lobbying Congress to back a limited strike on Syria, saying that they want to degrade Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s delivery systems after he allegedly carried out a sarin gas attack on 21 August that killed more than 1,400 people. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO