US News

Obama in uphill battle on Syria vote

President Obama will ramp up the pressure Monday to persuade Congress into backing a US military strike on Syria — and faces an embarrassing defeat as he scrambles to win support from skeptical lawmakers and a war-weary public.

The president’s struggle became clear this weekend when Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas said he was opposed.

“Before any military action in Syria is taken, the administration must prove a compelling national security interest,” said Pryor, who faces a tough 2014 re-election bid.

He is the fifth Senate Democrat to come out against the Obama administration’s plan.

On Monday, the president will tape interviews with three network-news anchors, as well as with PBS, CNN and FOX.

A Senate vote to authorize “limited and specified use” of force without any ground troops is expected Wednesday. The House likely won’t vote until next week.

The latest head count by The Hill shows 24 Senators voting in favor or leaning in favor of the resolution; 19 are against it or likely to vote against it; and 27 are undecided.

In the House, 31 representatives are reportedly favoring a strike; 138 members are against it or leaning that way; and 92 are undecided.

“Right now, I think it’s going to be difficult to pass the House,” Long Island Rep. Peter King told The Post.

The Republican lawmaker, who sits on the House Permanent Select Intelligence and Homeland Security committees, said he plans to vote for US action.

Demonstrators staged anti-war protests in Manhattan and in front of the White House on Saturday, as Pope Francis led a mass peace vigil in St. Peter’s square.

President Obama left during the Washington demonstration to play golf at Andrews Air Force Base. Before he left, he acknowledged that “the American people are weary after a decade of war.

“But we are the United States of America,” the president said in a radio address. “We cannot turn a blind eye to images like the ones we’ve seen out of Syria.”

Syria’s civil war came to a head on Aug. 21 when President Bashar al-Assad’s forces killed more than 1,400 people — including 426 children — in what the US claims was a chemical-weapons attack. A Syrian opposition leader said a small number of victims were secretly flown to Great Britain and tested positive for sarin, a deadly gas.

The violence continued Saturday when 16 people were killed in heavy government shelling of rebel positions near Damascus.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are backing Obama — with Pelosi sending her fifth letter to colleagues Saturday to muster support.

National Security Advisor Susan Rice is expected to give a speech on Monday at the New America Foundation, while President Obama plans to give a prime-time speech Tuesday to push his plan.

Harlem Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel has come out in opposition to US intervention — saying Bashar’s actions do not threaten the country’s security.

Meanwhile, Republican Rep. Michael Grimm, who represents Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, flip-flopped and now says he’s opposed to military action.