While President Obama waits for Congress to vote on a strike on Syria, the US is building up its naval force in the region.


The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and its strike group are now moving toward the Red Sea to be in place if it is needed, Reuters reports.


The carrier group had been due to sail back to its home port in Washington state. The USS San Antonio , which carries 300 Marines, has diverted to join five American destroyers already in the eastern Mediterranean and could serve as a staging post for special forces troops, officials say.


The American destroyers are carrying around 200 Tomahawk missiles —twice as many as experts say would be needed for a limited strike on Syria.