Stop Trump's march to war in Syria

Tell Congress: "Rein in Donald Trump’s illegal march to war with Syria. Assert your power to authorize military action." Add your name:

Bashar al-Assad, Syria's gruesome dictator, is waging war on his own people, and this past weekend, the world saw his brutality in a chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of civilians – including many children – in the Syrian city of Douma.1 Donald Trump reacted to the attack by threatening to escalate U.S. involvement in the Syrian War.2 The civil war in Syria is heartbreaking, but unauthorized U.S. military intervention will not help the Syrian people. Instead, Congress and the executive branch must support the diplomatic corps and work with the international community to build the conditions for a permanent ceasefire. Some members of Congress are already asserting their authority to check Trump's reckless warmongering.3 Now we need to demonstrate that the American people do not want to give Trump his war in Syria, and we expect Congress to do its job. Tell Congress: Stop Trump’s illegal march to war with Syria. Assert your power to authorize military action. Click here to sign the petition. Trump lacks the legal authority to militarily engage Syrian forces without explicit authorization from Congress.4 What's more, he has done nothing to de-escalate the situation. Instead of focusing on diplomacy, Trump slammed the door on refugees from Syria.5 Instead of filling the Department of State with qualified diplomats to help solve this crisis, he installed an oil executive and now is pushing for warmongering, anti-Muslim Mike Pompeo to be the next secretary of state.6 Real diplomacy is the only viable path that would support a stable Syria. The images out of Syria are truly sickening. The people of Syria have suffered far too long under the murderous dictator Al-Assad – near daily bombings, children drowning in the Mediterranean Sea while seeking refuge in Europe and several instances of possible chemical attacks, like the one from this past weekend.7 One thing is clear – illegally using our military in this conflict doesn't help the Syrian people. Escalating the involvement of the U.S. military is unlikely to either remove Assad or limit casualties and could lead directly to a war with Iran and Russia.8 The current Authorization for Use of Military Force that Congress passed post-9/11 does not authorize this strike.9 Trump’s attacks on Syria also violate international law. The Charter of the United Nations is crystal clear on when it is legal to go to war: in the case of self-defense or when it is approved by the U.N. Security Council.10 Tell Congress: Stop Trump’s illegal march to war with Syria. Assert your power to authorize military action. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/no_Trump_war?t=7&akid=28105%2E3130208%2EkMtEW4 - Kaili Lambe, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Daniel Victor, "Suspected Chemical Attack in Syria: What We Know and Don’t Know," The New York Times, April 11, 2018. Ishaan Tharoor, "Trump threatens Russia and Assad, but he has no path to victory in Syria," The Washington Post, April 11, 2018. Kate Gould, "Call TODAY: Urge Congress to Stop Unlawful Escalation in Syria," Friends Committee on National Legislation, April 11, 2018. John Nichols, “Trump Launched Missile Strikes on Syria Without Congressional Authorization,” The Nation, April 6, 2017. Sabrina Siddiqui, "'A hellish nightmare': how Trump's travel ban hit a Syrian refugee family," The Guardian, Feb. 4, 2018. Nicole Gaouette and Richard Roth, "World wary as Trump turns to hardliners Bolton and Pompeo," CNN, March 24, 2018. NPR, "A Brief Timeline Of the Syrian Civil War Leading Up To U.S. Threats Of Military Strikes," April 11, 2018. Tharoor, "Trump threatens Russia and Assad, but he has no path to victory in Syria." Peter Beinart, "Trump's Dangerous Threat of War," The Atlantic, April 11, 2018. Julian Ku, "Trump’s Syria strike clearly broke international law — and no one seems to care," Vox, April 19, 2017.