Syria: Swords Crossed... In Santa Clarita Valley?

House Armed Services Committee Chairman and founder/chairman of the congressional Drone Caucus Buck McKeon is always boosting wars on behalf of the arms manufacturers who are fianncing his career and his family's wealth. (They have a lobbying firm working with war industries.) His hatred and disrespect for President Obama, on the other hand, sometimes gets him in a muddle. He told one of the local newspapers that he wants Obama to bomb, bomb, bomb but he better talk with him first. McKeon can never hold back his nasty, small-minded antipathy for the president, even if he agrres with what he's trying to accomplish.

“I share Americans’ concern with the developing situation in Syria, and I am monitoring events there closely. Using chemical weapons against innocent civilians is unacceptable. No regime can be allowed to do so with impunity.

“The President established a red line policy. I expect the Commander in Chief would consult with Congress in the days ahead as he considers the options available to him. Drawing red lines before you know what you are willing to do to back them up is folly, but now that American credibility is on the line, the President cannot fail to act decisively.”

The calm, cool and collected Democrat running against McKeon, nationally renowned Simi Valley surgeon Lee Rogers, doesn't approach an issue of war with the same hysteria or opportunity for self-enrichment that McKeon does. His statement wasn't driven by self-interest:

Rep. Buck McKeon's comments about the President are inflammatory and unnecessary. He has become the 'critic-in-chief' of the administration. But his shoot from the hip, cowboy-style helped create other poorly devised conflicts. He was very critical of the Iraq War's end and the drawdown in Afghanistan. McKeon can't wait to get us in another Middle Eastern war. He criticizes the president over the 'red line' in Syria, but apparently the only red McKeon likes to see is the red ink in the defense budget as he supports all sorts of outdated and nonessential weapon systems the Pentagon doesn't want or need.

While I agree with McKeon that the Constitution clearly delineates the authority to declare war to the Congress, the President can use military action to protect US civilians and interests without Congressional approval.

However, In the case of Syria, there is no immediate threat to the US and unilateral military action by the President should not be taken. I do believe the evidence of chemical weapons use and images of rows of dead children prompt some type of moral response. The use of chemical weapons violates several international laws and treaties. A multinational force through the UN, NATO, or even the Arab League nations could be created to punish the Assad regime. That is certainly a much more difficult path than unilateral action by the US, but it is the prudent one.

Whatever involvement the US takes, it should be a limited one that minimizes risk to US troops and has a clear and rapid exit strategy.

More urgently, I support the immediate distribution of humanitarian aid. Providing Syrian civilians with gas masks and the antidotes to sarin and BZ gas would reduce casualties in future gas attacks.

Barbara Lee's district is a little north of McKeon's but her letter to President Obama today is worth reading.

Dear Mr. President:

We join you and the international community in expressing unequivocal condemnation over the news that chemical weapons were reportedly used by the government of Syria.

While we believe that as Commander in Chief you must do what is necessary to protect our national security, Congress has the Constitutional obligation and power to approve military force if the United States has not been attacked or threatened with an attack. As such, we strongly urge you to seek an affirmative decision of Congress prior to committing any U.S. military engagement to this complex crisis.

While the ongoing human rights violations and continued loss of life is unacceptable, we must not repeat the mistakes of the past. We strongly support the work within the United Nations Security Council to build international consensus condemning the alleged use of chemical weapons; we should also allow the U.N. inspectors the space and time necessary to do their jobs, which are so crucial to ensuring accountability.

As elected officials, we have a duty to represent the will and priorities of our constituents. Before weighing the use of military force, Congress must fully debate and consider the facts and every alternative, as well as determine how best to end the violence and protect civilians. We stand ready to work with you.

Scott Rigell (R-VA) also wrote a letter to President Obama, this one "strongly" urging Obama to get authorization from Congress-- and not just some hand-picked war hawks like McCain, McKeon and AIPAC agent Eliot Engel-- before he starts bombing Syria. Congressemembers from across the ideological spectrum have been rushing to sign it. An hour before the signature deadline this is who had had already (in order of when they signed):

Scott Rigell (R-VA)
Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ)
Mo Brooks (R-AL)
Scott Garrett (R-NJ)
Tom McClintock (R-CA)
Tom Marino (R-PA)
Dan Benishek (R-MI)
Tom Rooney (R-FL)
Steve Pearce (R-NM)
Tim Griffin (R-AR)
Justin Amash (R-MI)
Raul Labrabor (R-ID)
Joe Pitts (R-PA)
Trent Franks (R-AZ)
John Campbell (R-CA)
Paul Gosar (R-AZ)
Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA)
Joe Wilson (R-SC)
Charles Boustany (R-LA)
Tom Cole (R-OK)
Louie Gohmert (R-TX)
Austin Scott (R-GA)
Bill Posey (R-FL)
Randy Forbes (R-VA)
Phil Gingrey (R-GA)
David Roe (R-TN)
Mark Sanford (R-SC)
John Duncan, Jr. (R-TN)
Reid Ribble (R-WI)
James Lankford (R-OK)
Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
Stephen Fincher (R-TN)
Trey Radel (R-FL)
Chris Stewart (R-UT)
Lynn Jenkins (R-KS)
Jeff Duncan (R-SC)
David McKinley (R-WV)
Gus Bilirakis (R-FL)
Joseph Heck (R-NV)
Dennis Ross (R-FL)
Billy Long (R-MO)
Randy Hultgren (R-IL)
Steven Palazzo (R-MS)
Kevin Yoder (R-KS)
Doug Collins(R-GA)
Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA)
Gene Green (D-TX)
Beto O’Rourke (D-TX)
Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)
Peter DeFazio (D-OR)
Kurt Schrader (D-OR)
Rush Holt (D-NJ)
William Enyart (D-IL)
Timothy Walz (D-MN)
Christopher Gibson (R-NY)
Trey Gowdy (R-SC)
Frank Wolf (R-VA)
Michael Capuano (D-MA)
Michael Simpson (R-ID)
Michael McCaul (R-TX)
Thomas Petri  (R-WI)
Robert Pittenger (R-NC)
Walter Jones (R-NC)
Tom Latham (R-IA)
Richard Nolan (D-MN)
Jim McDermott (D-WA)
Kerry Bentivolio (R-MI)
Mike Coffman (R-CO)
Sean Duffy (R-WI)
Bruce Braley (D-IA)
Morgan Griffith (R-VA)
Brad Wenstrup (R-OH)
Mark Amodei (R-NV)
Roger Williams (R-TX)
Doug Lamalfa (R-CA)
Brett Guthrie (R-KY)
Sam Farr (D-CA)
Steve Daines (R-MT)
Robert Hurt (R-VA)
Steve Southerland (R-FL)
Michele Bachmann (R-MN)
Ralph Hall (R-TX)

Rand Paul doesn't make any sense on a wide range of issues, from Choice and equality to healthcare, economic justice and fair taxation but he's right on point when it comes to this whole Syria mess. He has a healthy skepticism about Kerry's and Biden's bullshit on how they "know for sure" that Assad is the one using the chemical weapons and he has pointed out that the civil war in Syria has “no clear national security connection to the United States and victory by either side will not necessarily bring in to power people friendly to the United States." He is also reminding less bright Members of Congress that "the Constitution grants the power to declare war to Congress, not the president." So why is Boehner refusing to call the House back to Washington? Isn't this important enough for him to interrupt his golfing?