DFA on SYRIA STRIKES: “While Trump likes to play authoritarian, it’s Congress” who decides on war
In response to Donald Trump’s announcement this evening of military strikes against Syrian military targets, Democracy for America’s Executive Director Charles Chamberlain released the following statement:
"Once again, Donald Trump and the war hawks running his administration are making America less safe by throwing us into the civil war in Syria without any sort Congressional approval.
"While Donald Trump certainly likes to play the part of an authoritarian, we still have a constitution that clearly states that it's Congress, not Presidents, who decide when we go to war.
"The unfathomable level of human suffering and the atrocious use of illegal chemical weapons in Syria can only be stopped with the political solutions created by robust, creative, and sustained international diplomatic effort.
"It's long past time for Congress to step up, exercise its constitutional authority, and make certain that Donald Trump doesn't drag us into a great power conflict-fueled civil war in the Middle East in an attempt to distract us from the growing cloud of scandal and corruption surrounding him here at home." -- Charles Chamberlain, Executive Director, Democracy for America.
As the organization noted last year following similarly ill-conceived military strikes in Syria, DFA has long demanded careful consideration and congressional consultation concerning the use of military force in Syria.