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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Speaker Boehner could learn from Dennis Kucinich

Yes, I do miss Congressman Dennis Kucinich. Whether I agreed with him or not at least I knew beforehand what his position would be on a controversial issue. Consistency of opinion indicates a reliance on principles to guide one's decision making process.The former congressman is one of the few principled actors in the Syrian crisis.
“So what, we're about to become Al Qaeda's air force now?” Kucinich said in a Hill post. He went on to question the whether the chemical attacks had actually occurred.
Kucinich raised doubts about rebel forces' allegations that Assad's forces used poison gas to kill more than 1,300 people last week. He said the administration is “rushing” to what could becoming “World War Three” based on questionable evidence.
“This is being used as a pretext,” he said. “The verdict is in before the facts have been gathered. What does that tell you?”

Larry Johnson, at No Quarter who has a CIA background has articulated similar misgivings.
I wonder if the Nobel Committee now realizes how badly Barack Obama duped them. Did not do a goddamn thing and yet got the Nobel Peace Prize. Now, eight years later, Obama is going to try to start a war in Syria, using the pre-text of a highly questionable chemical weapon threat. But Obama’s impending use of military force is far more cynical and far more dangerous than anything George W. Bush did. A man of peace? I think not.
In another post Johnson comments on a video purporting to show the victims of a nerve gas attack.
Note–NOT A SINGLE PERSON INSPECTING THE SCENE IS WEARING PROTECTIVE SUITS OR MASKS. YET, THEY ARE HANDLING ITEMS AND BODIES AND SHOWING NO ILL EFFECTS. If there had been Sarin or Mustard Gas, the folks inspecting the site would need to wear protective clothing and be able to disinfect themselves. Zero evidence of that.
The same administration that fooled the nation into believing that a YouTube video was the root cause for the attack on the Benghazi consulate now will act unilaterally with little independent evidence- so far neither the CIA nor the United Nations have confirmed the use of chemical weapons. If Congress were given a vote on intervention in Syria it is doubtful that even with a preponderance of evidence showing the use of WMD's it would approve a use of force. Reuters confirms there is very little public support for intervention notwithstanding the use of chemical weapons.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll, taken August 19-23, found that 25 percent of Americans would support U.S. intervention if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces used chemicals to attack civilians, while 46 percent would oppose it. That represented a decline in backing for U.S. action since August 13, when Reuters/Ipsos tracking polls found that 30.2 percent of Americans supported intervention in Syria if chemicals had been used, while 41.6 percent did not.
The post goes on to say that a mere 9% would back unilateral intervention by Obama.
This brings me to my other concern, namely the lack of congressional leadership. The silence from Speaker Boehner has been deafening. The Speaker has the power to reconvene Congress to debate the issue. My sense is even with support from the Speaker and minority leader Pelosi a resolution permitting the impending attack on Syria would not carry. Congress and the Speaker are missing in action.

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