Sixth District Republican Congressman Bob Goodlatte said today that he cannot support President Obama’s request for United States military action in Syria.
Goodlatte’s statement:
“While the President acted appropriately in consulting Congress for this authorization, his proposed response, his support from the international community, and his outreach to the American public has created more questions than answers. To be clear, the use of chemical weapons is despicable, and I do not condone this attack on Syrian civilians. However, after attending a classified briefing and carefully reviewing the classified intelligence made available to Members of Congress, I cannot support the proposed resolution pending in the Senate. Anytime our country enters into military action, we must consider the men and women of our Armed Forces who stand in harm’s way to serve our nation. After deliberate consideration of all of the relevant information, including the classified materials presented to Members of Congress to justify the use of force, and after listening to the concerns of my constituents, I do not believe it is in the best interest of our Armed Forces and the United States of America to authorize the President’s proposed use of military force in Syria.”
Goodlatte voted in favor of military action in Iraq in 2002 in support of Republican President George W. Bush, but has otherwise consistently voted against military actions supported by Democratic presidents, including voting to ban arming forces in Libya and voting against removing U.S. forces from Afghanistan in 2011 and voting against U.S. action in Kosovo in 1999.
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