As members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives contemplate authorizing President Barack Obama to use military force in Syria, several members of the New Jersey delegation aren’t convinced by the president’s plan. Congressman Frank LoBiondo (R-2) told NJ Today Managing Editor Mike Schneider if the vote were held today, he would not support the action.
LoBiondo said he has never seen a controversial issue be so one-sided with regard to constituent calls. “You can count on one hand the number of people who have called in support of this. And there are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds who have not just called in opposition but adamantly, vehemently opposed,” he said.
According to LoBiondo, the House Armed Services and House Intelligence Committee has asked the Obama administration for a couple years to come up with a coherent policy on Syria. “Not only do I think the policy’s not coherent, I don’t think there’s any policy at all,” he said. “The president should’ve called us back for a joint session of Congress immediately. He called a joint session of Congress for Obamacare, made an address to the nation making his case. The president has not made his case and I think up to this point in time he is seriously behind on this issue.”
LoBiondo said he has no doubt that chemical weapons were used in Syria and he’s fairly certain that the Assad regime used them. “But that’s not airtight,” he added.
Some argue that if the U.S. doesn’t act, it will send a signal that the country can’t be counted on in times of trouble. LoBiondo said that’s the argument the Obama administration is making. But he said the administration has failed to make a convincing case for what happens after a U.S. strike.
“We’ve been two years without any policy at all on Syria. And now the president has decided to act with military force and he has no one — virtually no one — from the international community that’s with us. There’s a lot at stake here,” LoBiondo said.
According to LoBiondo, lawmakers have been told they don’t have to worry about the Syrians retaliating against Israel, Jordan or Turkey. “But when pressed about how sure are we about this, of course they’re not sure at all,” he said. “So maybe it’s not the Syrians who attack Israel, maybe it’s Hezbollah, maybe it’s the Iranians. And then, what happens at that point? And no one can explain what goes on from this point forward to my satisfaction of how this is not going to involve us in something way beyond what the president is talking about.”
Obama is expected to address the nation next week about the issue. In order to change his mind, LoBiondo said Obama must make his case. “The president’s not made a convincing case. He’s not made it to me, he’s not made it to my constituents, he’s not made it to the American public and he’s not made it to our host of allies who are normally with us, who’ve been with us in past actions on this. And I think that speaks volumes,” he said.