We're going to wrap up our live blog coverage for the day. Here's a summary of the Senate hearing on a proposed congressional resolution to authorize the use of force in Syria:

• Support for military action on Syria appears strong in the Senate, judging from the foreign relations committee hearing just concluded. Senator after senator opened his or her remarks with a call for action. Secretary of state John Kerry answered a lion's share of the questions.

• Kerry repeatedly guaranteed that not to act would only create a worse crisis later. He said Assad's use of chemical weapons (as he described it) threatened the security of the United States and its friends.

• The witnesses said the US mission at hand was to degrade Assad's chemical weapons capability, to deter future use and to strengthen the opposition.

• Kerry made the mistake of thinking out loud – his explanation – and described a scenario in which "boots on the ground" might be necessary in Syria that didn't sound nearly hypothetical enough for the pleasure of some members. He described loose chemical weapons in an "imploding" Syria. Pressed on the point later Kerry stated incontrovertibly that "there will not be boots on the ground with respect to the civil war."

• Some Syrians watching the proceedings found the experience to be surreal.

• Kerry, Hagel and Dempsey described multitudinous scenarios for regional conflict stemming from American inaction. Kerry described a "much greater likelihood" that Hezbollah would procure chemical weapons and use them on Israel. The witnesses also said a deterrent to North Korea using its chemical weapons is needed.

• A few senators – Udall, Paul, Barrasso, Risch – questioned the strength of the intelligence assessment showing Assad had used chemical weapons or the likely efficacy of US military strikes. Several protesters were ejected from the hearing for standing and shouting about the bad intelligence that led the US into the Iraq war.

• Asked about why he had changed his mind on Syria since April, when he described deep reservations, Hagel said the chemical weapons attack had created "a new set of realities."

• General Dempsey said there were four Russian warships in the eastern Mediterranean but they were keeping a "respectful distance" and he considers them a non-issue. Kerry called for calm. "It's important for us not to get into an unnecessary struggle with the Russians," he said.

• Kerry sought to depict an opposition that is growing increasingly moderate even as it makes military gains. "The opposition is getting stronger by the day now, and I think General Idris would tell you that," he said. Hagel said, "We are also committed to doing more to assisting the Syrian opposition."

• Kerry said the military strikes would not be war. "President Obama is not asking Americans to go to war," he said.