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After declaring that Syria's use of chemical weapons on its population demanded a response from America and the world, Mr Obama flies into a G20 meeting in Russia today to try to win the support of world leaders for a "limited and proportionate" strike against Damascus.
He told them to unite in the face of Syrian "barbarism" and declared that the world, not him, had set a red line on the use of chemical weapons.
The US Congress moved last night towards voting on a resolution giving the President a 90-day period in which to conduct air attacks on Syria.
Comment: When it comes to Syrian "barbarism", the only barbarism that has been evident thoughout is the barbarism that the US sponsored Al-qaeda terrorists have shown:
See: Obama's Syrian Rebels are practicing cannibalismWestern-backed terrorists in Syria involved in illegal human organ trade
U.S.-backed terrorists mass murder unarmed civilians in Syria
Vatican confirms Catholic priest beheaded by Syrian rebels
FSA Barbaric Massacres against 230+ Abducted Civilians in Homs
Saudi Wahhabi Preacher Issues Fatwa Allowing Jihadis to Rape Syrian Women
FSA Terrorists Massacre Civilians in a Bus in Al Ramosi in the name of Jihad (18+)
Syrian 'rebels' (CIA, Mossad, MI6) issue ultimatum to Assad: Capitulate or we blow your country apart
The wording of the Bill likely to be put before Congress early next week was passed 10 votes to 7 by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It emphasised that the goal of military action would be to shift the momentum in the war against the Syrian regime.
Mr Obama has given up hope of persuading the United Nations to back the strikes, and his closest ally Britain has voted against military action. There are no plans for him to meet David Cameron for a formal meeting during the two-day summit.
President Putin, who hosts the G20 in St Petersburg and is a key ally of Damascus, hinted that he could soften his opposition to the strikes, and said he had halted shipment of a key air defence missile system ordered by the Syrian regime.
Mr Cameron is expected to use a formal one-to-one with Mr Putin to try to convince the Russian leader that Mr Assad was responsible for the August 21 attack in the Damascus suburbs and and should face the consequences.
Mr Putin said yesterday that he "doesn't exclude" supporting a UN resolution on punitive military strikes, providing there was strong evidence that chemical weapons were used and proof "beyond doubt" who used them.
Speaking about the need for a consensus to respond to the chemical gas attack that killed more than 1,400 civilians Mr Obama told a news conference in Stockholm: "My credibility's not on the line. The international community's credibility's on the line. And America and Congress's credibility's on the line. I didn't set a red line. The world set a red line."
Comment: A word twisting snake! The people of the world has set a red line: NO more imperial wars!
As Mr Obama called for international unity, France, the only other major power considering Syrian military intervention, restated its intention to support the US.
During a fiery debate in the French Assembly, Jean-Marc Ayrault, the Prime Minister, said that President Hollande remained determined to respond militarily to Mr Assad's "terrifying attack" on his own people.
"Look reality in the face. If we do not put a short sharp end to such actions by the regime, there will be no political solution [in Syria]," he said.
Mr Cameron rejected claims that a US-led strike risked provoking Armageddon in the Middle East as Russia entered the war to support Syria.
Faisal Muqdad, Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister, warned that a US strike could provoke "World War III". The Assad regime denies that it fired the sarin nerve gas into rebel held areas of the capital.
Mr Cameron said: "If no action is taken following President Obama's red line and if no action is taken following this appalling use of chemical weapons, you have to ask yourself what sort of Armageddon are the Syrian people going to be facing?"
Although support in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives for the proposed US strike is not assured, Mr Obama made clear that he could still press ahead with military intervention even without its backing, or that of other nations.
"As Commander-in-Chief, I always preserve the right and the responsibility to act on behalf of America's national security," the President said.
Comment: Translation: As Liar-in-chief and warmonger-in-chief I preserve the right to continue lying to the world and to act and wage wars on behalf of the military industrial complex.
John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee to assure members that the US was mustering international support. "A number of countries in the region, friends of ours, have offered to be part of this operation," he said, adding that he was due to meet with 28 European foreign ministers on Saturday.
Comment: Who needs the UN, when a couple of medieval petro-monarchies will do as evidence of international support.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that the Obama Administration is also considering expanding its military aid to the Syrian rebels by putting the Pentagon in charge of arming and training them instead of the CIA.
The hardening of the resolution last night towards changing the course of Syria's civil war against the regime appeared designed to win the support of Senator John McCain, one of the most outspoken Republican advocates of intervention.
He said that he could not support any resolution that did not specifically have the goal of "reversing momentum on the ground" of Mr Assad's forces. The resolution marked the first time that US politicians have voted to authorise military action since the October 2002 votes giving President George W. Bush the authority to invade Iraq. The resolution prohibits the use of ground troops.
Russia warned that an attack on Syria could have catastrophic effects if a missile struck a small reactor near Damascus where radioactive uranium is stored. "If a warhead, by design or by chance, were to hit the Miniature Neutron Source Reactor near Damascus, the consequences could be catastrophic," the Foreign Ministry said.
The rebels in Syria claimed a significant new defection from the regime yesterday. The Syrian National Coalition said that General Ali Habib, a former Syrian Defence Minister and a prominent member of Mr Assad's ruling Alawite sect, had defected and was now in Turkey. If confirmed, this would make him the highest-ranking Alawite figure to break with Mr Assad since the Syrian uprising began in 2011.
Just how much Agent Orange did the USA drop on Vietnam, still causing genetic damage to children today and for generations to come?