Democratic Congresswoman Speaks Out Against Syria Military Strike
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Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call(WASHINGTON) — President Obama’s efforts to win congressional support for a resolution to hit Syria for its alleged use of chemical weapons got a lot tougher Monday when a Democratic congresswoman from his birth state said she wouldn’t sign on to the plan.
Tulsi Gabbard, who was elected to the House last November, knows something about war having served tours in both Iraq and Kuwait with the Hawaii National Guard.
Gabbard acknowledges that she’s disturbed by the deployment of chemical weapons that the administration claims was launched by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.
However, Gabbard says that after weighing all the evidence, “I have come to the conclusion that a U.S. military strike against Syria would be a serious mistake.”
A vote in the Senate for a resolution authorizing military force is expected to be close but the House appears to be another story with sentiment running heavily against taking action to punish the Assad regime.
Republican war vets Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Tom Cotton of Arkansas are part of the minority that back the White House while Gabbard and Democrat Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, who lost her legs in Iraq, have joined the majority of lawmakers opposed to a Syria strike.
Meanwhile after a closed-door session Monday night, California Republican Darrell Issa said that administration officials didn’t answer questions to his satisfaction about a Syria strike. He added that even if the government’s chemical weapons were destroyed, the Assad regime would keep slaughtering civilians.
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