Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Arizona
US President Barack Obama and his allies on Capitol Hill are facing resistance from rank-and-file members in Congress who still believe that it’s not in US interest to launch a war against Syria.
While a range of congressional leaders said on Tuesday that they would support a strike on Syria, many other members are openly opposed — or at least undecided.
“It’s going to be very difficult for [the president] to convince me the United States should be involved,” Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., told FoxNews.com. “I’m not seeing any threat to our national security.”
“I don’t think a majority of the Republican conference will support this,” Salmon said on Wednesday. “And I suspect some Democrats will defect.”
Salmon said, “[John] Boehner is not my boss,” referring to the Hose Speaker who said on Tuesday that he will vote in support of the use of military force in Syria. “The people who elected me are my boss. Voters are saying, ‘Please, do not engage in Syria.’ ”
Also on Wednesday, Michigan Republican Rep. Justin Amash tweeted: “If members of Congress care at all what constituents think, they will not authorize strikes in #Syria. “Never seen an action w/ less support.”
On Monday, South Carolina Republican Reps. Trey Gowdy and Jeff Duncan also said they did not support a strike.
“The case has not been made to me of why the United States should be involved in Syria,” Gowdy said. “I don’t see where any imminent threat to the United States is evident,” Duncan said.
The comments reflect multiple polls in the US that show the American public is widely opposed to military action against Syria.
The US and some of its allies want to launch missile strikes on Syria over accusations that the country used chemical weapons against militant groups, an allegation strongly rejected by the Syrian government.
AHT
Republished from: Press TV