Posted on 11/20/2015 10:23:32 AM PST by Mariner
WASHINGTON (AP) — In an unusual alliance, a House Democrat and Republican have teamed up to urge the Obama administration to stop trying to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad and focus all its efforts on destroying Islamic State militants.
Reps. Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat, and Austin Scott, a Republican, introduced legislation on Friday to end what they called an "illegal war" to overthrow Assad, the leader of Syria accused of killing tens of thousands of Syrian citizens in a more than four-year-old civil war entangled in a battle against IS extremists, also known as ISIS.
"The U.S. is waging two wars in Syria," Gabbard said. "The first is the war against ISIS and other Islamic extremists, which Congress authorized after the terrorist attack on 9/11. The second war is the illegal war to overthrow the Syrian government of Assad."
Scott said, "Working to remove Assad at this stage is counter-productive to what I believe our primary mission should be."
Publicly, the United States has focused its efforts on fighting IS and urging Assad to step down. But beyond thousands of U.S. airstrikes targeting IS in the region, the CIA began a covert operation in 2013 to arm, fund and train a moderate opposition to Assad. The secret CIA program is the only step the U.S. is taking on Assad militarily.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Congress taking steps to reign in this lawless POTUS.
The Putin effect?
About damn time.
SPOT ON
I guess Obama never found those idealistic, secular, democracy-loving, Western-oriented, Facebook and Twitter-posting Syrian youth who he wanted to arm so that they could overthrow Assad, defeat ISIS and ultimately turn Damascus into a combination of the Upper East Side and Martha’s Vineyard.
But he got a bunch of CIA and Specops guys dead with Russian bombs.
Obama is listening to Iran, not the American congress.
Who does ValJar want to run Syria?
Obama must be really p***** now. Good!
About time.
Somebody should tell McAinal and Linda to shut their pie holes re killing Assad.
Can someone post the pictures of McAinal having tea or whatever with Isis leaders.
Ah, but McCain and Graham are still working closely with Soros and the Muslim Brotherhood for their payoff. Finally someone gets what Benghazi was all about.
God, deliver us from McCain and Graham.... and, f’n Corker. They all have their payoff (Corker btw, and his buddies- get.. first crack at a cheap price for the Tennessee Valley Authority, for sale by obamaumao).
Damn Right! obummer had his Red Line and let Assad walk right over it so o should STFU already. He must think we have flaccid minds, members and memories like his dims have!
If Congress had done its job in the first place we would not be here having this discussion.
Obama would have either had a stroke or been committed to a mental hospital for long term care.
He is finally getting just a little bit of resistance to his plans and he is losing his mind.
If the republicans had operated as an opposition party as soon as they had a majority in the House, there would have been no second Obama term.
Even McCain could have beaten him.
Sadly Boehner caved to everything the Kenyan desired. And now Ryan will do the same only offering token resistance. For the folks back home ya know.
I guess the Boland Amendment is ignored these days.
I remember the liberals raising hell over Bush “nation building”. Obama has been trying to do that since he took office. Thank God for the Egyptian military. I wish our military leaders had the same courage.
Its about time to drop the BS war on Assad. He was protecting the Syrian Christians. The rebels are persecuting them.
That is what the people think also. Who does Obama think he is that he can take down the president of another country? Assad is the leader in Syria and Obama has no right whatsoever meddling in that country’s politics. It’s good that some lawmakers are finally standing up to this clown.
However unpleasant Assad may be, he seems preferable to most of the alternatives in Syria, something which "Arab Spring" fans in both parties can't seem to grasp.
It’s about pipelines and warm water ports. Suck up to the Saudis and kick the Russians out of Tartus. In this respect, ISIS and al Nusra are our covert allies, from the point of view of Obama, McCain and company.
Excellent summary of Assad versus what McAinal and Linda would have us believe.
I just heard the best argument for getting rid of Isis from a former CIA operative. Get all our people out of Syria and take out their infrastructure. Water, power, he even mentioned hospitals. He said that if we fail to do so it will surely lead to fascism. America has to get the stomach for real warfare. Yes there will be civilian casualties. But that’s how you win a war against an evil power.
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