In March 2011, the brutality of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fractured the nation and sent it spiraling into a civil war of sorts that is still being fought today. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his military forces to support the dictator, and after a United Nations investigation determined that chemical weapons had been used, then-President Barack Obama dispatched units of the United States military to the region, both in support of the rebels and as part of the wider war against the Islamic State/ISIS building up in the region.
It’s Time to Go
On February 17, United States Central Command (CENTCOM) issued a press release saying four US service members and one working dog were wounded in a joint attack with Syrian Democratic Forces that took out Hamza al-Homsi, one of the remaining senior leaders of ISIS. This comes roughly a year and a half after an August 2021 interview President Joe Biden gave to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, where he said America does not have military forces in Syria.
Those two facts have galvanized Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to propose a concurrent resolution in the House of Representatives invoking the authority of Congress under the 1973 War Powers Resolution (Act) that would require Biden to pull any remaining military forces out of Syria. According to the Congressman’s press release on the matter, resolutions submitted under this law mean that the House will have to vote on it within 18 days of when it was introduced (February 21).”
Gaetz’s press release also mentions exclusive coverage by Fox News, which quoted the Congressman pointing out that long after “Obama kicked off our involvement,” the US still finds itself involved, along with “Russia and Turkey and Iran, all present in a very confined neighborhood.” He also expressed concern about potential problems that could arise and expand into a wider conflict with that mix of militaries in the region.
