Members Of Congress push back against US troops in Syria

Following the revelation this week that 400 more US ground troops were deployed to Syria, a Bay Area congresswoman introduced a bill Friday to block further deployments without Congressional debate or authorization.

Rep. Barbara Lee’s bill would prohibit the expansion of US combat troops in Syria. In a statement released Friday, Lee (D-Oakland) wrote, “For more than fifteen years, the U.S. has been engaged in an ever-expanding war in the Middle East. President Trump’s deployment of combat troops in Syria is the latest front in this endless war.”

Lee said the president should not make such an important decision unilaterally. The US military has not disclosed how many troops are currently in Syria. Only 503 are authorized, but temporary deployments do not count against the cap.

Lee’s bill has 15 Democratic co-sponsors as well as one Republican co-sponsor, Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC).

Air Force Col. John L. Dorrian, spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve – the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS – told The New York Times this week that “…approximately an additional 400 enabling forces deployed for a temporary period to enable our Syrian partnered forces to defeat ISIS in Raqqa.”

U.S. Gen. Joseph Votel, head of US Central Command, confirmed the likelihood of an increased US military presence in Syria at a hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday.

Lee is famous for being the only member of Congress to vote against Authorization for the Use of Military Force, following the September 11, 2011 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. She said Friday that authorization “is still being used to justify military actions around the globe, including this new deployment into Syria.”