In what was intended a something of a throwaway comment, Secretary of State John Kerry suggested that Syria could avoid a U.S. strike if Assad would “turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week.” Kerry then added, “He isn’t about to do it and it can’t be done obviously.” The statement (called a “major goof” by one U.S. official) has led to Russian and Syrian officials suggesting they’d consider that deal.

+ President Obama will make his case to the American people on Tuesday. It will be an uphill battle as public opinion has shifted dramatically over the past week. Sixty-three percent of Americans now oppose U.S. airstrikes.

+ Meanwhile, Bashar al-Assad sat down for an interview with Charlie Rose. “We’re not like the American administration. We’re not social media administration or government. We are the government that deals with reality.”

+ Harvard’s Graham Allison on the Syrian decision: Ask “what would the Godfather do?”