RPI Advisory Board Members Rep. John J. Duncan, Jr. and former Rep. Dennis Kucinich are speaking out in opposition to a US military attack on Syria.
US Rep. Duncan, in a television interview in his home state of Tennessee, engages the issue with clear, straightforward comments as he often engages legislation on the House of Representatives floor. Among other comments in the short interview, Duncan notes that “We don’t need to be getting involved in a civil war in Syria. We don’t have a vital national interest over there,” and “We seemingly are almost in a state of permanent war, and I don’t believe that our people want us to be in a state of permanent war, and I don’t believe we can afford it.”
The Hill quotes former US Rep. Kucinich as asking, “So what, we’re about to become Al Qaeda’s air force now?” Kucinich also joins the questioning of justifying US military action on the Syrian government’s alleged chemical weapons use:
“This is being used as a pretext,” [Kucinich] said. “The verdict is in before the facts have been gathered. What does that tell you?”
Duncan and Kucinich warn that the new US military action would risk escalation. Duncan explains that “Every time we get involved in some limited way, so far anyway, it’s led to much greater involvement in the very near future.”
Kucinich warns that the Obama administration is rushing into what could become “World War Three.”