By Jesse Franz
Despite support in Congress for military action against Syria, some Fresno State faculty and students remain wary of involvement.
President Barack Obama said an attack against Syria was not imminent on Friday and announced he would seek congressional approval before taking military action. This is in response to what his administration called “indisputable proof” of the use of chemical weapons by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s military in their civil war.
Dr. Thomas Holyoke, a political science professor, distinguished why so much international outrage has come as a result of Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons, as opposed to the use of conventional weapons.
“Chemical weapons, the way Assad has been using them, are being used to terrorize civilians by killing them in large numbers,” Holyoke said. “Assad is using this as a weapon of terror to try and cow the people of Syria by murdering civilians.”
The President’s administration gained congressional support over the weekend from two prominent Republican Senators, John McCain and Lindsey Graham.
Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner and Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor also came out in favor of a military strike. “I’m going to support the president’s call for action. I believe my colleagues should support this call for action,” Boehner said in a press conference Monday.
Sumaya Attia, a Fresno State student and member of the Muslim Student Association, disapprove of Assad but still hope for a diplomatic resolution.
“Those who support Assad at this point cannot continue to deny that more than 100,000 people are dead. Not all are military people. These aren’t soldiers. These are civilians. Women and children are dead because of him. Therefore, if you’re pro-Assad, you’re pro-injustice.”
Dr. Jeremy Cummins, a political science professor who is against US intervention in the region, was discouraged by the comments from Graham and McCain.
“They’re a little too enthusiastic in committing troops,” Cummins said. “A lot of the time, like any time there’s a conflict, all they want to do is send troops in there. So I wouldn’t say they’re necessarily a good barometer of the sentiment in the Republican Party.
“But I would say by having the House Republican leaders come out in support and some of the democrats that you’ll probably get at least a majority support in each chamber.”
Congress will be back in office next week and will vote on Obama’s proposed military strikes. The bill would approve 90 days of military force against Syria.
Secretary of State John Kerry estimated that the number of times that Assad’s military forces have used chemical weapons is in the “teens” and reaffirmed his position that Assad’s forces used chemical weapons in the Aug. 21 bombing when an estimated 1,429 people were killed.
While the Obama administration made its case, Holyoke said there is no room for a mistake in this decision.
“Be really damn careful that you know what you’re doing,” Holyoke said. “Make sure that the intelligence is really correct on this one. That could be one of the worst things the
U.S. could do to its credibility is to start taking military action in Syria, then discover that Assad had not done this at all.”
As congressional support for authorization of a military strike on Syria appears to be growing, the Fresno State community still has mixed opinions of another war in the Middle East. Holyoke attributes part of the popular dissent to military action in Syria to international war weariness.
“The American public is very against any new conflicts,” he said. “Afghanistan and Iraq have just worn down the public so badly since 2000. I don’t think we should intervene militarily because at the end, more people will be killed, Assad will still be in power and chemical weapons have killed and maimed people, but so will drones and so will bombs.”
Even with some support in Congress, Cummins said he doesn’t see merit in intervention.
“In this particular case, I don’t think there is a clear choice, and if it was up to me I’d say let it take care of itself and then we’ll deal with the aftermath,” Cummins said. “We’ve been burned too many times where we’ve tried to instill some opposition group and it backfires.”
