Jayapal Responds to U.S. Airstrikes in Syria

SEATTLE – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal released the following statement in response to President Trump’s U.S. airstrikes in Syria:

“The horrific sarin gas attacks by a dictator on his own people in Syria were designed to test the limits of the world community.  The United States must help to lead a strategy forward, but a night of missile strikes is not a plan. It is an act of war, with very real potential for further escalation that would put more American troops in harm’s way and strike a match in an extremely volatile part of the world.

“Under the Constitution, only Congress has the power to authorize the use of military force. President Trump has not proposed to Congress a comprehensive strategy to end the violence in Syria and combat the Assad regime. The President owes the American people a plan that ensures we do not become entangled in another war. His unilateral action, without Congressional approval, is a disturbing precedent that we must not allow.

“A foreign policy of unilateral military action will not bring enduring peace. President Trump must demand Russia come to the table and support a UN investigation of the chemical attack. He must also engage the international community in a multilateral plan to end this humanitarian crisis in Syria and throughout the Middle East.

“In the meantime, the latest attacks in Syria have resulted in even more deaths and the displacement of thousands of innocent people. President Trump must lift his ban on refugees, and allow those who are fighting for their lives to seek refuge in our country.”