Mr. Gary N. Arpin
264 Rolling Fork Drive
De Queen, AR 71832-9266
Dear Gary:
264 Rolling Fork Drive
De Queen, AR 71832-9266
Dear Gary:
Thank
you
for
contacting
me
about
military
strikes
in
Syria.
It's
good
to
hear
from
you,
as
always.
As
part
of
the
2011
anti-authoritarian
movements
throughout
the
Middle
East
and
North
Africa
known
as
the
"Arab
Spring,"
demonstrations
against
President
Bashar
al-Assad
and
the
ruling
Syrian
Ba'ath
Party
began
to
grow. The
conflict
soon
became
violent
as
the
Assad
regime
deployed
the
military
to
quell
the
movement,
and
the
violence
persists
today
with
the
Syrian
Army
cracking
down
on
rebel
opposition
forces
as
well
as
innocent
civilians
with
brutal
violence.
As
you
know,
the
opposition
movement
is
composed
of
a
wide
range
of
groups
and
influences,
ranging
from
moderate
reformers
to
extremist
forces. In
fact,
it
came
to
light
earlier
this
year
that
one
of
the
rebel
groups
known
as
al-Nusra
Front
is
an
Islamist
group
affiliated
with
al
Qaeda
in
Iraq.
Should
al-Nusra
claim
the
Syrian
government,
an
Islamist,
al-Qaeda-linked
regime
would
pose
a
serious
threat
to
the
interests
of
the
United
States
and
our
allies
in
the
region,
particularly
Syria's
neighbor
Israel.
That
said,
under
the
current
regime,
led
by
Bashar
Al-Assad,
Syria
is
an
enemy
of
the
U.S.,
as
evidenced
by
their
close
ties
to
the
rogue
Iranian
regime
and
Hezbollah,
a
Shi'a
Islamist
group
designated
a
terrorist
organization
by
the
U.S.
government.
With
a
variety
of
players
embroiled
in
the
conflict,
the
situation
is
volatile,
and
the
outcome
of
the
conflict
is
still
uncertain.
In
its
latest
act
of
brutality,
the
Assad
regime
recently
carried
out
a
chemical
weapon
attack
on
innocent
civilians
in
a
neighborhood
east
of
Damascus,
with
over
1,000
civilians
believed
to
have
been
killed.
I
have
personally
reviewed
the
classified
intelligence
reports
on
this
attack
and
there
is
virtually
no
doubt
that
the
attack
was
anything
other
than
the
deliberate
act
of
the
murderous
and
tyrannical
Assad
regime.
In
addition,
after
more
than
two
years
of
fighting,
the
United
Nations
has
estimated
that
over
100,000
people
have
been
killed
in
Syria
while
millions
have
been
displaced—thus,
the
conflict
is
a
humanitarian
crisis.
While
I
understand
your
concern
about
taking
direct
action
in
Syria,
I
believe that
America
has
strategic
interests
in
the
Syrian
situation,
in
addition
to
the
humanitarian
motivations.
We
cannot
allow
that
country
to
deteriorate
to
a
point
where
al-Qaeda
or
other
extremist
groups,
such
as
Hezbollah,
are
able
to
exploit
the
situation
and
obtain
weapons
of
mass
destruction,
like
the
sarin
gas
used
last
week,
for
example.
President
Obama's
weakness
on
foreign
policy
may
have
made
a
bad
situation
in
Syria
worse,
but
as
a
veteran,
I
know
that
there
is
no
time
for
politics
when
considering
use
of
the
American
military.
At
this
point,
I
believe
further
inaction
in
Syria
would
embolden
our
enemies
such
as
Iran,
weaken
allies
like
Israel
and
Jordan,
and
undermine
U.S.
credibility
and
standing
in
the
world.
Thus,
I
support
efforts
to
respond
forcefully
to
the
Assad
regime's
use
of
chemical
weapons—military
action
is
just
and
warranted.
That
said,
I
agree
that
it
is
crucial
that
we
proceed
with
great
caution.
All
military
action
warrants
constant
oversight
to
ensure
that
it
supports
American
interests
and
uses
taxpayer
money
appropriately.
From
my
position
on
the
House
Foreign
Affairs
Committee,
you
can
be
sure
that
I
will
closely
monitor
developments
in
Syria
and
assess
the
need
for
any
future
congressional
action
based
on
those
developments,
and
I
will
keep
your
reservations
in
mind
as
I
do
so.
I
am
committed
to
a
foreign
policy
that
will
strengthen
America's
position
in
the
world
and
keep
Americans
safe,
and
I
will
work
throughout
my
time
in
the
House
of
Representatives
to
promote
this
policy.
I
trust
you
will
understand
my
principled
disagreement
on
this
particular
issue,
and
I
look
forward
to
working
together
on
other
matters
of
shared
principle.
Please
feel
free
to
contact
me
in
the
future
on
any
other
issues
of
importance
to
you.
I'm
truly
honored
to
serve
as
your
representative—please
know
that
your
interests
and
affairs
have
my
unceasing
attention. Always
feel
free
to
call
my
office
at
(202)
225-3772
or
visit www.cotton.house.gov.
Tom Cotton
Member of Congress
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