Kerry Bentivolio says "No" to Syria War

[IndianaPolitico]

http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20130831/NEWS02/308310007

In an interview Thursday with the Birmingham Eccentric, Bentivolio (R-11th District) was asked about Syria and how the U.S. should respond to allegations of a chemical strike outside Damascus. At the time, Bentivolio said he was getting conflicting reports about who actually used the chemical weapons.

“I don’t see how getting stuck in a civil war thousands of miles away helps keep us safe,” the congressman said. “The situation isn’t black and white – it’s very complex. We just spent over 10 years fighting al Qaeda. If we get rid of Assad it would create a power vacuum for al Qaeda to take over. Al Qaeda is in opposition to Assad in Syria and it doesn’t make sense for us to get involved.”

 

[FSP-Rebel]

Kerry has come a long way and if he can muster the courage to vote against the next CR he can redeem himself imo.

 

[IndianaPolitico]

Kerry has come a long way and if he can muster the courage to vote against the next CR he can redeem himself imo.

I do not think we should write him off by any means.

 

[Occam's Banana]

The situation isn’t black and white [...]

Yes it is.

[...] it’s very complex.

No it isn't.

 

[IndianaPolitico]

Yes it is.



No it isn't.

He is saying it isn't black and white who the "good guys" are in Syria. There is more then "rebels=good, Assad=bad".

 

[Occam's Banana]

He is saying it isn't black and white who the "good guys" are in Syria. There is more then "rebels=good, Assad=bad".

It doesn't matter who the "good guys" are or how easy or difficult it may be to correctly identify them. That is irrelevant.
Intervention in Syria would not suddenly become justified merely because we could unequivocally say "these guys good, those guys bad."
None of it is any of our business - period. This is black and white. It is not complex. QED.

 

[EBounding]

Here's his Op-Ed in the Detroit News. It's pretty good.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/...erry-Bentivolio-Why-veteran-opposes-war-Syria

Being the only congressman to serve in both the Vietnam War and the latest conflict in Iraq, I can tell you that I know a little bit about war. I’ve seen the misery it can cause—both on the battlefield and at home. From civilians who’ve had their homes caught in the middle of the fighting to families in the United States going through sleepless nights worrying about their loved ones serving overseas, war is not something to take lightly.
...

 

[IndianaPolitico]

It doesn't matter who the "good guys" are or how easy or difficult it may be to correctly identify them. That is irrelevant.
Intervention in Syria would not suddenly become justified merely because we could unequivocally say "these guys good, those guys bad."
None of it is any of our business - period. This is black and white. It is not complex. QED.

It is easier to convince people by describing the situation in more detail.

 

[PatrickHenry1]

Kerry has come a long way and if he can muster the courage to vote against the next CR he can redeem himself imo.

So deciding to not vote for the next CR makes up for his voting to raise the debt ceiling, the NDAA without Smith-Gibson the Farm bill and previous CR's? Not for me, he's made his bed and now he can sleep in it with John Boehner and the other RINO's he'd rather align himself with.

 

[Occam's Banana]

It is easier to convince people by describing the situation in more detail.

Not when you tell people that the issue is "complex" (when it is not) and saying this sort of thing isn't "black and white" (when it is).

Introducing irrelevancies (such as who the "good guys" and the "bad guys" "really" are) does not make it easier to convince people. It only makes it easier for our opponents to use our invocations of "complexity" and "greyness" to justify their own position. Specifically, it rhetorically & implicitly concedes the possibility that intervention in this case would be justified if only we could figure out who the "good guys" and the "bad guys" "really" are. Once our opponents are given that concession, they will use propaganda and misinformation to argue that they have correctly identified who "we" should support and intervene on behalf of ...