It’s rare when all Americans can agree on one thing, but it makes for a powerful force when our political parties act in unison. Now, it’s being reported that the two normally bitter political rivals are coming together against a common foe — President Barack Obama.
Specifically, they want to put a stop to what they’re calling the Obama administration’s illegal foreign policy moves.
In an unusual alliance, a House Democrat and Republican have teamed up to take on the Obama administration and urge the president to stop trying to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad. Instead, they want to focus all the United States efforts on simply destroying Islamic State militants.
Reps. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, and Austin Scott, R-Ga., 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.
In the Philippines on Thursday for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, President Barack Obama reiterated America’s demand that Assad must go. “The bottom line is: I do not foresee a situation in which we can end the civil war in Syria while Assad remains in power,” Obama said.
Since 2013, the CIA has trained an estimated 10,000 fighters, although the number still fighting with so-called moderate forces is unclear. CIA-backed rebels in Syria, who had begun to put serious pressure on Assad’s forces, are now under Russian bombardment with little prospect of rescue by their American patrons, U.S. officials say.
For years, the CIA effort had foundered — so much so that over the summer, some in Congress proposed cutting its budget. Some CIA-supported rebels had been captured; others had defected to extremist groups.
Gabbard complained that Congress has never authorized the CIA effort, though covert programs do not require congressional approval, and the program has been briefed to the intelligence committees as required by law, according to congressional aides who are not authorized to be quoted discussing the matter.
Gabbard contends that the effort to overthrow Assad is counter-productive because it is helping IS topple the Syrian leader and take control of all of Syria. If IS were able to seize the Syrian military’s weaponry, infrastructure and hardware, the group would become even more dangerous than it is now and exacerbate the refugee crisis.
The Associated Press contributed to this article
In the 1970’s and 1980’s Americans questioned everything about their government. They read newspapers and voted in large numbers. Today, it’s political correctness and staring into a smart phone. Expressing an opinion is wrong. 40% is a big voter turnout today. Then we wonder why our nation is in such a poor condition?
we can win this battle if we pull together and get rid of the brick brack from using his pin to what ever he wants forgetting he represents us in american. cut off the power of the pen user and you have the democracy back he was voted in he can be brought up on charges of espionage or terrorist or traitor not just impeach but charge with federal offense he has run over every office FBi CIA Judges of state and federal the congress you name it he has pushed his lies to prevent america to be the christian country that our God intended it to be not His muslim trash
why not both of them go together ,?? ,the trouble is America would go on well and Syria needs someone to be ready to take over ,a strong man who can control , now you have another situation , how many muslims have arrived by presidential decree ,how many of your government control has been given to muslims by Obama , you will have to sort this when he is gone, within this do you have housing ,work ,money ,food ,schools , hospitals to care for them ,charity begins at home so let them go back and America support them as they can afford,maybe by stopping all the warfare ,it is expensive , arm the kurds and the assyrians and fight with them ,clear the decks and let them live ,get a new president and rebuild your county and way of life
I agree. And I’d not even wait for the sun to come up to carry out the sentence meted out to traitors.
The majority of voters now are the uninformed, misinformed and the blind loyalists to their party, that is why our country’s economy is the worse in history, trillions in debt. Check out the 50 years of Democrats majority in both houses and their agenda of TAX.BORROW and SPEND is what led us to this debt based economy. Everytime the Republicans tried to reign in the spending they threaten to close the government. I used to be a Democrat but I got educated on their agenda for the country , although still registered as one but I never voted for any of them since 1968.
we can win this battle if we pull together and get rid of the brick brack from using his pin to what ever he wants forgetting he represents us in american. cut off the power of the pen user and you have the democracy back he was voted in he can be brought up on charges of espionage or terrorist or traitor not just impeach but charge with federal offense he has run over every office FBi CIA Judges of state and federal the congress you name it he has pushed his lies to prevent america to be the christian country that our God intended it to be not His muslim trash
I agree it is about time someone stands up to the Arrogant Muslim and His Pie Face Wife
You mean his money-sponge, pie faced, masculine wife?
I really wish they would come together to get rid of this commie muslim traitor, if they don’t, we are lost.
The real sadness is that the Democratic Party at this point is no longer representing the people but simply trying to protect its own existence. They refuse to bring up charges against Obama regardless of how he uses his power illegally. If it were a Republican they would have indicted him years ago. The same goes for Hilary Clinton who is being protected by the party. As it has been publicly stated you cannot have a belief contrary to the Democrat imposed beliefs on abortion and be accepted by the party. There is much to be desired in the Republican Party as well but at least they are accepting a number of people to run for office who have views divergent to those of the staid old party hacks. While a man like Trump is being seen as a menace to the Republican Party can you even envision such a man being allowed to participate in a Democratic Party nomination? The Democrat party has no room for those who do not follow the leadership. The current list of candidates for president of our country in the Republican party and the minimal number running in the Democrat party shows how diversity is not allowed in the Democrat party.
When I began to vote in Texas you voted in the Democrat primary if you wished to make your vote for Governor count. The party accepted all people and the voters selected which views they wanted to run the state. Today the Democrat party has a litmus test which disqualifies anyone who is pro life. As Connally said so many years ago I did not leave the Democrat party the party left me. Gilbert Weissler
“I do not foresee a situation in which we can end the civil war in Syria while Assad remains in power,” Obama said. Mr. President it isn’t any of your business how Syria ends their civil war.
Unless Congress is prepared to declare war against Syria, we have no business being in Syria’s civil war. We would not like another nation waging war within our borders. The president has had more than two years to formulate a coherent Syrian policy. He hasn’t done so. We need to quit causing problems around the globe.
One thing that hasn’t been mentioned by Obama the Great is who would replace Mr. Assad. As we’ve seen in Iraq and Afghanistan, a humane, democracy-loving leader isn’t going to rise up when a dictator is deposed. Unseating Assad could open the door to a bigger problem than we have now. Having ISIS or al Qaeda replace Assad would not be a step in the right direction.
Syria may best end up in a state like North and South Korea. That by itself would not likely occur or persist, unless there was a quelling agent that would act as a disinterested party to help police the area to keep radicals from generating a place to start a fight again.
As for what it might take for minorities to actually have a viably equitable life (a lot of cultural diversity exists in that area of the4 world); I’d look to what South Africa generated for a Constitution for clues. They have a diversity in the administrative processes for the purpose of insuring valid checks and balances,.even in the event of necessary secret actions needed to put a freeze on terrorists. South Africa’s method of achieving that goal may not be satisfactory. Yet, that functionality almost assuredly needs a means to exist, no matter who is on top. Common civil(izing) laws ultimately must dominate all.
I may be errant i my analysis. Yet I have the suspicion that the UN has had its hands tied so far from the fact that Muslims are a majority by population i the world. Unless they really desire help through that means, none can arise from that quarter.