So far, from what President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have said about the goings on in Syria, of all the atrocities happening there, whether committed by the Assad regime or by either of his opposition, none of what they have said amounts to a direct threat to our national security. Syria is embroiled in a civil war. It is full of bad players. But it is their civil war, not ours.
Not having made the case that our national security is under imminent threat, there is no justification to get involved militarily in Syria. It’s their civil war. Let them fight it out until someone wins. Not until then will we know what kind of State we’re dealing with. No one interfered in our civil war, and it’s way too late to get involved in theirs. Paramount in our constitution is the fact that it empowers the President to use military force to protect our country and our citizens from attack or imminent attack. The actions in Syria meets neither of those tests. Kudos to my representative, Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), for recognizing that.
Which brings me to comment on what Rep. Peter King (R-NY) said about his Republican colleagues that understand that, calling them isolationists.
“I’m hoping by the time next week comes around and, hopefully, the president can make his case that he will be he able to get a majority of the House of Representatives,” King said on “Fox News Sunday.” “Right now, it would be difficult.” King cited the “increasing isolationist wing” in the Republican Party as a roadblock for passage, saying “it is damaging to the party and to the nation.”
Rep. King is setting himself up to be disappointed. “Hopefully” the president can make his case, he says. He either makes it, or he doesn’t. The Constitution is your guide Mr. King. It’s not about the party, like everything that guides the President. It’s about the country and the Constitution.
Our military is not to be used for
- ego building
- covering for flippant comments by the President
- enforcing international law
- punishing bad heads of state when they kill their own citizens
- being the world’s police
- being a custodian for a country involved in a civil war.
Our military is for protecting our people, and our country. By your standard, the Constitution is isolationist. And that’s not by accident. Resign if you can’t see fit to fulfill your oath to defend it. But at the very least, don’t disparage anyone that takes their oath, and the Constitution, seriously.
I like Rep. King, but he’s beginning to show signs of (JMS), John McCain Syndrome.
