I’m here today representing Eisenhower Chapter 157 of Veterans For Peace, whose members include Triangle-area veterans of World War Two, the Korean War, the American War on Vietnam, Operation Desert Storm... and all of our military interventions since.
Our Chapter has issued the following statement condemning Thursday’s unilateral and unauthorized U.S. attack on Syria, which violated both the U.S. Constitution and the 1973 War Powers Resolution:
“Veterans For Peace mourns the deaths of those recently killed in the chemical attack in Syria, and the hundreds of thousands of lives that have been lost over the last six years of our involvement in this conflict.
“As veterans who were sent to defend the safety and security of our nation, we call upon the Trump Administration to end all military actions in Syria and to begin intense U.S. diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in that region. Escalating military action only increases the dangers and intensifies the humanitarian catastrophe for the Syrian people, while making us more vulnerable to retaliation here at home.
“Since two-thousand-eleven, the U.S. has continued to support and conduct military operations within the borders of Syria with devastating effects. The cumulative effects of U.S. war-making, decisions made as part of the occupation of Iraq and the subsequent rise of ISIL, are the most impactful factors in creating the refugee crisis and the regional destabilization that exists today.
It is clear, after more than a generation of war, that more war and violence such as witnessed in Thursday’s attacks will not bring an end to the killing and suffering. We call upon the President to stop escalating tensions at home and abroad. The “peace and harmony” he calls for cannot prevail through cycles of violence. The madness of this multi-sided war must end.”