Congressman Doyle Votes Against Arming Syrian Rebels

Sep 19, 2014 Issues: Foreign Affairs, National Security and Terrorism
Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Mike Doyle (D-PA-14) issued the following statement today after the House voted 319-108 to approve H.J.Res. 124, a bill to provide funding for the continued operations of the federal government through December 11, 2014. Prior to the vote on final passage of H.J.Res. 124, the House voted 273-156 in favor of an amendment authorizing the U.S. Government to train and equip moderate elements of the Syrian opposition to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (“ISIS,” also referred to as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant or “ISIL”). 
 
“I share the President’s goal of dismantling and degrading ISIS, brutal religious fanatics who are terrorizing millions of innocent people in the Middle East. They pose a threat to U.S. political and economic interests abroad – and I believe they pose a serious long-term threat to the safety of Americans here at home as well.
 
“Rolling back ISIS will most likely require ground troops, along with airpower, intelligence, and logistical support. I adamantly oppose the commitment of U.S. ground troops in Iraq or Syria, as do most Americans. I’m convinced that the deployment of U.S. ground troops in the region would be counterproductive.”
 
“I commend the Administration for working hard to build an international coalition of countries to take on ISIS, but I cannot support training and arming so-called moderate Syrian rebels to fight ISIS. I believe that this initiative is unlikely to work. I have concerns about the loyalties of these so-called Syrian moderates, and I doubt that any amount of U.S. support would produce military units capable of fighting and defeating ISIS. We spent several years and billions of dollars training the Iraqi military, which collapsed and broke when attacked by ISIS. We devoted a lot of time and effort in Afghanistan as well, but the police and military there aren’t much to brag about, either. I think that it’s much more likely that training and arming Syrian rebels to fight ISIS would fail – and only result in more weaponry and equipment falling into the hands of ISIS. That’s why I voted against the amendment authorizing the Administration to train and arm certain Syrian rebels.
 
“It’s my belief that the only realistic chance of defeating ISIS consists of our allies in the region providing the “boots on the ground” needed to retake the territory currently held by ISIS. The U.S. government should work with them, providing airpower and other essential support.
 
“Iraq and Syria’s neighbors have to step up to address this threat, which is literally on their doorstep. If they’re not willing to commit ground troops, I don’t see why we should.” 
 
“I voted in favor of final passage on the Continuing Resolution, despite the inclusion of the amendment authorizing the training of Syrian rebels, because I wanted to keep the federal government running and avoid another government shutdown.”
 
 
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