Gibson: Don’t bomb Syria

[hrmjustin]

Jimmy Vielkind, Capitol bureau

Rep. Chris Gibson said he opposes air strikes against Syria, especially without an authorization vote in Congress, and says they will simply lead to an “Americanization” of the two-year-old civil war there and “make it worse.”

Gibson, a Kinderhook Republican who was first elected in 2010 after a 24-year stint in the Army, said airstrikes “won’t change the balance of power on the ground.” Administration officials, speaking with a cloak of anonymity, have told NBC News that airstrikes could begin as soon as this week. Officials in the United Kingdom said they will offer a United Nations resolution authorizing military force to protect civilians in the Middle Eastern country, where scores of civilians died after what international officials have said was a chemical attack launched by the regime of Bashar Al Assad.

“I understand the impulse. I am saddened by what’s going on, but we have a responsibility to take action that will make a difference, and will make a positive difference,” Gibson told the Times Union. “Intervening militarily will not do that, and in fact, I believe it will make it worse. … I think there is considerable leverage that we have diplomatically and economically: Syria cannot long survive isolated.”

“I urge the administration and my colleagues to think this through,” he continued. “I’m speaking now from my military experience: if you engage in an attack, what effects will that have on the ground? How will those effects be perceived? What might be the actions of the parties on the ground now — the rebels and the regime? What might be the reaction be of other interested parties in the region? How would we respond to that? And how does all of this lead us to long-term goal we have? … How do we integrate all dimensions of power to achieve those objectives? This is what’s not clear.”

Read more at http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/194017/gibson-dont-bomb-syria/