Washington, D.C. – Today, House Armed Services Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) released the following statement about military action against the Syrian government:

“The President has thus far failed to articulate a plan for how to counter the actions of the Syrian regime. Up to now, the focus in Syria has been entirely on combating ISIS, with no strategy for Assad. The President’s erratic tweets referencing Syria have left both our allies and our adversaries confused about his policy. These tweets have also made very clear that the President has no strategy for how to combat Assad’s atrocities against his own people.

“I am opposed to military action against Assad. It is not clear that military action will improve the situation for the Syrian people. It will be insufficient to remove Assad from power, and could make the situation worse. Iraq provides a lesson in the limitations of the military’s ability to unilaterally resolve massive global crises. At this point, we need a clear strategy from the President. What we don’t need are schizophrenic tweets that leave our allies confused.”

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