U.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger is back in the Middle East to get a better understanding of the civil unrest in Syria and Egypt and get an assessment of the nearly 12-yearlong U.S. military action in Afghanistan.
As chairman of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, Pittenger’s most pressing concern now is the Syrian matter.
“There are no good actors in the Syrian civil war, and the United States must be very careful not to become entangled in this internal conflict,” Pittenger said in a statement. “However, we should all be concerned by Syria’s substantial stockpile of chemical weapons and the risk these weapons could fall into the hands of al-Qaida, Hezbollah, or Hamas and used to kill hundreds of thousands of Americans.”
The Syrian government, under the direction of President Bashar Hafez al-Assad, is alleged to have used the chemical sarin — a toxic nerve gas — against residents of a Damascus suburb on Aug. 21.
Secretary of State John Kerry said lab tests confirmed the poisonous gas was used.
President Obama said in the past the use of chemical weapons would be to cross a “red line,” which would trigger a military action. On Saturday, however, Obama said he would seek Congressional approval before involving the military in Syria and that no military strikes would come until at least Sept. 9.
Pittenger said he would only support a Syrian plan that includes specific details regarding the use of U.S. military force.
“Under the Constitution, the responsibility to declare war rests with Congress, and I will not support an open-ended or ambiguous plan,” said Pittenger, who is on his second trip to the Middle East in three weeks. In mid-August he spent a week in Israel. Pittenger, a Republican whose 9th District includes a large portion of Iredell County, said this trip includes stops in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
“The president needs to present Congress with a clear objective for military action which protects the American people and innocent Syrian civilians,” Pittenger said and added that his primary objective in making the trip was to gather information about the situation in and around Syria and report back to his Congressional colleagues.
Pittenger said he would cancel his plans and return at once to Washington should Obama decide to call Congress into session to vote on the matter.
