On September 10, 2013 Congressman Ted Poe of Texas was granted permission to address the United States House of Representative regarding the situation in Syria.
“Madam Speaker, the drums of war are being beaten by the President who, ironically, won the Nobel Peace Prize. The ‘Peace President’ wants to fire missiles into Syria because tyrant Assad is violating the rules of war by allegedly using chemical weapons. The President’s goal is not to remove Assad, not to destroy the chemical weapons, but to send Assad a message. To be clear, there is no imminent national security threat or interest for the United States by us starting this war. And make no mistake, shooting rockets into another country is an act of war.”
“War has consequences. What if the outlaw Assad chooses then to use chemical weapons again or chooses to shoot back? He could retaliate against the United States, one of our embassies, the Navy that fired the rockets, or other U.S. military installations, or even specific troops, or retaliate against his neighbor, Turkey, or Israel, using our aggression as an excuse. In any of these situations, this limited war escalates with more U.S. response, intervention, and involvement”, he said.
“Now, who are the players in this war that is taking place already? On one side you have Syria, tyrant Assad, with the aid of Russia, with the aid of Iran that news reports say has 10,000 Iranian troops in Syria, and Hezbollah. Hezbollah, as you remember, Madam Speaker, is a terrorist group. Then, on the other side, you have the Free Syrian Army. You have patriots. You have mercenaries, paid soldiers from other countries. You have criminals that have come in to just pillage the land and use this as an opportunity. You also have al Nusra, an al Qaeda affiliate. You also have al Qaeda from Iraq. Now, last time I recall, the United States is already at war with al Qaeda. They are the enemy of the United States.” (Source: Congressional Record September 10, 2013).
Rep. Ted Poe is a powerful member in Congress who serves on the House Judiciary Committee, and the Foreign Affairs Committee as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade.