Barbara Lee speaks for me. Her comments today re: Syria
Last edited Wed Sep 4, 2013, 05:53 PM - Edit history (1)
White House working hard to woo House liberals on Syria
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/09/04/white-house-working-hard-to-woo-house-liberals-on-syria/
The bottom line for liberal Congressional Dems may be pretty much the same as it is for the public, according to polls: Congressional liberals agree Assad is guilty of horrific atrocities against his own people, but are not persuaded that strikes will dissuade further attacks and remain persuaded that they could create more problems than they would solve.
Dem Rep. Barbara Lee of California, a staunch opponent of military action, tells me that the exchange between members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and White House officials was “frank” and “forthright” and “candid” on both sides, with “very tough questions” coming from progressive Dems.
Rep. Lee, for instance, says she pressed White House officials on this question: “Even the administration agrees there’s no military solution and there can only be a negotiated settlement, so how does the use of force and strikes move us in that direction?” She also pressed for answers on how we can “mitigate” against “collateral damage” and on “the possibility of a regional conflict breaking out.”
snip
Lee, however, says she remains unpersuaded. “They’ve been very persuasive about the intelligence and the fact that we must do something,” Lee says. “They were not persuasive for me that the only option right now is a military option.” She added that on the question of whether strikes “will put Assad in check, I’m just not persuaded that’s the case.”
*****************
Congresswoman Barbara Lee is our nation's wisest, most prophetic voice on issues of war and peace. She is the only leader to have been correct in her votes AGAINST unlimited authorization to retaliate for 9/11 (Afghanistan), AGAINST the Patriot Act, and AGAINST the Iraq War. Her statements at the time of these votes were tragically prophetic.
For anyone on the fence, not knowing which is the correct position on the Syria question, I recommend listening to Barbara Lee.
ETA another link:
Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, also has made up her mind to oppose an attack. “We must respond to the heinous use of chemical weapons, but the danger of a military strike and its unintended consequences, including the possibility of further loss of life and the danger of escalated violence in the region, demand that we work with the international community and consider all the alternatives,” she said Tuesday.
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2013/09/03/where-they-stand-on-the-syria-resolution/
= new reply since forum marked as read
