Hillary Clinton backs Obama on Syria action

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a potential 2016 presidential nominee, backed President Barack Obama's attempts to seek military action against Syria on Monday and urged Congress to support him. In a White House event about wildlife trafficking, Clinton diverted from the subject to comment on efforts to pressure Syria over an August 21 chemical weapons attack that U.S. officials say killed 1,429 people. It would be an "important step" if the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad immediately ceded control of chemical weapons, she said. "The Assad regime's inhumane use of weapons of mass destruction against innocent men, women and children violates a universal norm at the heart of our global order," Clinton said. (Reporting By Roberta Rampton, Mark Felsenthal and Steve Holland)