Politics & Government

CT Delegation Cautious on Military Action in Syria

President Barack is looking to get support from Congress on intervention in Syria but, even from his own party, the response is not fully there.

This story was written and reported by Patch Editor Ronald DeRosa.

As President Barack Obama looks to Congress to build up support for military action in Syria, Connecticut's delegation is still wary of the effort.

U.S. Senator Chris Murphy has said he is skeptical of whether the U.S. government bombing Syria in retaliation to Bashar al-Assad's presumed use of chemical weapons will help the situation there.
"Before engaging in a military strike against Assad’s forces, the United States must understand that this action will likely draw us into a much wider and much longer-term conflict that could mean an even greater loss of life within Syria," Murphy said in a statement to the media last week.

In the past week, the U.S. government has alleged the regime of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons against its own people at suburbs outside the capital of Damascus. 

On Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry gave a detailed statement alleging the regime had used chemical weapons multiple times recently and that 1,429 people, including 426 children, had been killed in the attacks, according to the Huffington Post.

Still, other Connecticut lawmakers are cautious of any intervention. 

U.S. Rep. John Larson has gone on record to oppose a boots-on-the-ground approach in Syria, however he also noted he would be in favor of a strike if the rest of the world supported the measure. At a public forum in West Hartford over the weekend, Larson spoke about the issue to his Hartford-area constituents, many of whom had a mixed response to military intervention.

In an interview with The Hartford Courant, Rep. Jim Himes referenced Obama's "red line" comment; when the president remarked that if al-Assad used chemical weapons on his own people then the U.S. would be forced to act.

"I'm an admirer of this president,'' Himes told the newspaper. "But because of his establishment of this red line in June, we find ourselves in a real box right now."


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