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Congressman Matt Gaetz, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, introduced legislation to pull all U.S. troops from Syria.
His push to get his colleagues in the House to vote on this resolution comes after a report from U.S. Central Command that four of our military personnel were wounded in that country last week.
The news was a surprise to some because President Biden said in an interview with ABC News in August 2021 that the U.S. did not have troops in Syria.
“Since the invasion of Ukraine, we seem to have turned our attention away from some of America’s entanglement in Syria,” Gaetz said when speaking to Fox News Digital.
The Florida Congressman revealed his desire to get House members on record regarding their support for or disapproval of the continuation of our involvement in Syria.
He said, “And the purpose of my legislation is to force members of Congress to vote on record regarding whether they think we ought to continue Obama’s war in Syria. President Obama kicked off our involvement … and now we still find ourselves in the middle of a Syrian civil war with Russia and Turkey and Iran, all present in a very confined neighborhood.”
Gaetz expressed concern about the possibility of things escalating in Syria. The Florida Congressman said we need to ask ourselves if this is what we really want. Do we want to continue to be involved in the Syrian civil war?
“And the risk of an accident or miscalculation or just misuse of authority could lead to direct kinetic conflict between the United States and Russia in Syria. And we ought to really think about whether or not that risk is worth whatever it is we’re fighting for in Syria.
“If Joe Biden wants to keep U.S. troops in the Syrian conflict, he should have to explain to us why, what the goal is and what winning looks like.”
Gaetz seems confused by the mixed signals coming from Congress. He wants the House members to pick a side.
“One of my great disappointments in the 118th Congress is that people who I thought were anti-war Democrats seem to be consumed, have become cheerleaders for our armed conflict. ‘The Squad’ used to be anti-war. Now, they’re waving their pom poms for NATO.
“And, so, I’m sort of looking for where the anti-war coalition currently resides in Congress. Is it more on the right, is it more on the left? Is it some amalgamation thereof?
“But this resolution will test who is truly adherent to what I believe is America First Foreign Policy and who continues to believe in Middle Eastern adventurism.”
If approved, the resolution would mandate the removal of all U.S. troops within 15 days of adoption. Gaetz is hopeful his resolution will receive bipartisan support.
