WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) on Sunday issued the following statement in response to President Obama’s announcement that he will ask Congress to authorize military force in Syria.
“I have just attended a classified Congressional briefing on Syria that quite frankly raised more questions than it answered. I found the evidence presented by Administration officials to be circumstantial. The atrocious use of chemical weapons against civilian is an affront to human values and a violation of international law. It should be condemned by the international community as a whole.
“The coming debate in Congress will hopefully shine the light on outstanding questions — as will the results of the U.N. inspection team. We must wait for these results before any action is taken. What I hear from Iowans is that the Middle East has a complex history and the conflicts there will not be solved by U.S. military action alone. We should not rush into what may become a new open-ended war without broad international backing or a full understanding of the ramifications.”
While you are at it Tom, ask where the chemical weapons came from. Did Syria make their own or import from elsewhere?