I’ve devoted this week to fighting Obama’s march to war in Syria. And I am ready to change parties over this issue.
I will not vote for anyone in Congress who votes to authorize bombing in Syria, and I’ve notified my US Representative Ann Wagner and Senator Roy Blunt. Here’s why:
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I am far from convinced that the chemical attack was perpetrated by the government. Terrorism expert Yosef Brodansky reported that the preponderance of evidence indicates Syrian rebels released the sarin attack.
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I believe the US government has overstated the death count by a factor of three. The LA Times reported yesterday that:
the administration has asserted that the government of President Bashar Assad killed 1,429 people, including at least 426 children, in an Aug. 21 attack on the suburbs of Damascus. British intelligence organizations said last week that they believed at least 350 people had been killed. French intelligence said Monday that it had confirmed at least 281 deaths through open-source videos, although its experts had created models that were consistent with as many as 1,500 deaths.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, generally regarded as one of the most reliable sources of information on casualty figures in Syria, says it has confirmed 502 deaths, including 80 children and 137 women. Rami Abdul-Rahman, a Syrian expatriate who runs the organization from his home in Britain, said he was shocked by the White House’s count.
- I believe John Kerry knowingly lied to Congress regarding the number of terrorists embedded with Syrian rebels. According to Reuters:
Secretary of State John Kerry’s public assertions that moderate Syrian opposition groups are growing in influence appear to be at odds with estimates by U.S. and European intelligence sources and nongovernmental experts, who say Islamic extremists remain by far the fiercest and best-organized rebel elements.
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There is no core US national security interest at stake in Syria.
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Mutual defense pacts between Syria and Iran (and possibly Russia) risk escalating a civil war into a global war.
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America’s** Millennial Generation has already sacrificed its best and brightest** for failed nation-building attempts in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and Egypt. **How many more maimed, scarred, and “dearly remembered” 20-somethings does John McCain want?**
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I don’t believe we won’t put troops on the ground (and no one else does, either.)
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My son in the US Navy is more important to me and to the world than Obama’s pride.
This issue could be the wedge that drives me permanently from the Republican party to the Libertarians.
If we don’t stand for truth and justice in matters of life and death, war and peace, then we’re nothing but opportunists.
More to come . . .