U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz is not just opposed to American troops getting involved in Ukraine. He wants them out of Syria as well.
Many of us probably didn’t know we had troops in Syria.
Yet last week, four soldiers and a service dog were wounded in a raid that killed ISIS terrorist leader Hamza al-Homsi. Al-Hosmi reportedly self-detonated an explosive-laden vest as troops closed in.
The blast injured the troops and their canine. All were being treated for their injuries and in stable condition, The Free Press reported.
Despite taking out a major terrorist, Gaetz, a Florida Republican, filed a bill to have the troops pulled out within 15 days of its enactment.
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“Congress has never authorized the use of military force in Syria,” Gaetz said in a statement on Wednesday. “The United States is currently not in a war with or against Syria, so why are we conducting dangerous military operations there?”
“America First means actually putting the people of our country first — not the interests of the Military Industrial Complex,” Gaetz added.
In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Gaetz questioned Biden’s grasp of the situation.
In August 2021, Biden asserted that America had “no military” inside Syria.
Yet that was quickly refuted, as some outlets noted 900 U.S. troops remained in Syria at the time.
“Since the invasion of Ukraine, we seem to have turned our attention away from some of America’s entanglement in Syria,” Gaetz told Fox News. “And the purpose of my legislation is to force members of Congress to vote on record regarding whether they think we ought to continue [former President Barack] Obama’s war in Syria.”
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“President Obama kicked off our involvement … and now we still find ourselves in the middle of a Syrian civil war with Russia and Turkey and Iran, all present in a very confined neighborhood. And it strikes me as a powder keg for very dangerous escalation.”
“As we find ourselves here in 2023, we ought to ask ourselves, ‘Do we really want to continue the Obama-era policy of engaging in a Syrian civil war?’ I don’t think we should,” he added.
Gaetz told Fox News that he’s been told Russian and U.S. troops “get into very close proximity to one another, close enough to take photos and wave.”
“And the risk of an accident or miscalculation or just misuse of authority could lead to direct kinetic conflict between the United States and Russia in Syria. And we ought to really think about whether or not that risk is worth whatever it is we’re fighting for in Syria,” Gaetz added.
“If Joe Biden wants to keep U.S. troops in the Syrian conflict, he should have to explain to us why, what the goal is, and what winning looks like.”
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Continuing, the Florida congressman added, “One of my great disappointments in the 118th Congress is that people who I thought were anti-war Democrats seem to be consumed, have become cheerleaders for our armed conflict.”
“‘The Squad’ used to be anti-war. Now, they’re waving their pom poms for NATO. And, so, I’m sort of looking for where the anti-war coalition currently resides in the Congress.”
“This resolution will test who is truly adherent to what I believe is America First Foreign Policy and who continues to believe in Middle Eastern adventurism.”
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