Intervention in Syria

Sent to Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Sen. Brian Schatz, and Sen. Maize Hirono

I understand that the use of chemical weapons by the Bashir Assad regime in Syria is a serious affront to international norms of behavior and must be addressed by the community of nations. I also understand that, due to statements made by President Obama, the reputation and resolve of the United States are on the line on this issue. I wish, however, to urge extreme caution before the United States takes any unilateral action in this matter.

While it appears to me - a citizen without access to any classified data -
that the evidence indicates that the Assad regime (or elements within the regime) did indeed initiate the August chemical attacks, the sense of urgency surrounding this enter question is disturbingly reminiscent of the buildup to the Iraq war in 2003. Then, as now, we were told that US intelligence agencies had strong evidence to justify our proposed actions, which evidence later proved to be incorrect.

While I am glad that President Obama has asked for authorization from Congress for any proposed action against Syria, I urge you to require strong international support for any military strike. The United States is not the policeman for the world - if the community of nations objects strongly to the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime, any punitive action should be truly international in scope and in composition.

As far as I can see, there is no imminent threat to the United States or our interests from Syria, and no need for precipitate unilateral action. I also fail to see how any type of remote strikes can effectively "punish" the Assad regime for the alleged chemical weapons attacks. It would be difficult to destroy the existing chemical stockpiles (without releasing and dispersing the agents) with anything less than a JDAM or nuclear attack, either of which would probably result in many civilian casualties - which are exactly what we are trying to prevent. Destruction of C&C facilities would hamper the regime's military operations, but wold not preclude subsequent use of chemical weapons - and what do we do then?

The threat here is non-existent. The mission is unclear. The consequences are unknown. In this situation, in my opinion we should authorize military force only in response to a UN Security Council resolution. I agree with UN Secretary Ban that any other attack against a nation which has not attacked us is a violation of the United Nations Charter and thus illegal under international law. How can we claim to be upholding international law (prohibiting chemical weapons use, even though Syria is not a signatory) while at the same time flauting international law by attacking a Member of the United Nations in violation of the Charter?

I urge you to vote against any use of US military forces against Syria unless in accordance with a UN Security Council resolution. The United States should never initiate military action against a nation which has not attacked, and as far as we know has no intention or capability of attacking, us.

Sincerely,
Henry Stilmack