President Obama: Don't Strike Syria Without Congressional Approval
Robert Naiman - MoveOn
On Sunday, Republican Sen. Bob Corker and Rep. Eliot Engel - a Democrat who voted for the Iraq war - told Fox News that President Obama should strike Syria first and get Congressional approval afterwards.
That's not how the U.S. Constitution says it should go. That's not how the War Powers Resolution says it should go. The Constitution and the War Powers Resolution say that absent an attack on the United States, Congress must approve military action before it takes place.
Tell President Obama not to take any military action in Syria without Congressional approval, and tell Congress to stand up for the U.S. Constitution and the War Powers Resolution.
According to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, 60 percent of Americans surveyed said the U.S. should not intervene in Syria's sectarian civil war, while just 9 percent thought President Obama should intervene. Even if Assad's forces used chemical weapons to attack civilians – at this point, an allegation which has not been proved, and an allegation that was made in the past without being proved - only 25 percent of Americans would support U.S. intervention, while 46 percent would oppose it.
On July 24, the House approved an amendment by voice vote that would prohibit funding of any military action that violates the War Powers Resolution.
If President Obama can get us into war in Syria without Congressional approval, it will set a terrible precedent: a future president could more easily get us into war in Iran without Congressional approval.
Tell President Obama not to take any military action in Syria without Congressional approval, and tell Congress to stand up for the U.S. Constitution and the War Powers Resolution.
P.S. I wrote about this campaign at Daily Kos, where I included links to references for the information above. You can read that and share it here:
President Obama: Don't Strike Syria Without Congressional Approval
I included a poll in the piece at Daily Kos. The poll asks readers if they agree or disagree with,
“The powers of POTUS to introduce Armed Forces into hostilities are exercised only pursuant to declaration of war, specific statutory authorization, or national emergency created by attack upon the US, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.”
That is, it asks readers if they agree or disagree with Section 2c of the War Powers Resolution, which is binding U.S. law. Please vote in the poll!