By David Martosko In Washington PUBLISHED: 15:06 EST, 2 September 2013 | UPDATED: 18:06 EST, 2 September 2013 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called Bashar al-Assad 'a two-bit dictator' on Monday during an hour-long conference call with Democratic congressmen - saying Syria's president will 'continue to act with impunity' if President Obama's request for limited air strikes fails to win approval. And speaking to reporters after a meeting with President Obama at the White House, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona said that if Congress defeats a resolution calling for military intervention, it would be 'catastrophic, because it would undermine the credibility of the United States and the president of the United States.'
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McCain is one of the loudest critics of the administration's handling of Syria
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Obama asked him to come to the White House specifically to discuss Syria
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Lawmakers cut short vacation to join intelligence briefing
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Kerry told 200 Democrats on call that this was a 'Munich' moment - referring to the 1938 Munich Pact that failed to stop Hitler
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Most lawmakers agree regime did use chemical weapons but are split on resolution
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Minnesota Rep. Rick Nolan said he feared it would be 'another Vietnam'
@placeholder served in Vietnam as captain of a naval 'swift boat' whose other crewmen challenged the basis for his service medals when he ran for president in 2004.