Growing Congressional Demands for Vote on Syria War

After British Parliament Vote, Pressure Grows for Similar US Process

Though the Obama Administration has repeatedly downplayed the idea of getting specific Congressional authorization before attacking Syria, insisting they can do so unilaterally, there are now more than 150 members of Congress demanding a vote.

The president’s case against bringing in Congress has taken a major hit today, after British Prime Minister David Cameron recalled his parliament and saw them reject his call to go to war.

Though the prospect of the US Congress saying “no” is exactly why the Obama Administration doesn’t want a vote, that Britain’s equivalent was allowed a vote at all underscores the importance of Congressional input.

Congress is in recess until September 9, but could be recalled at any time to vote on the matter. An actual debate on the war would mean significant scrutiny for the dubious “evidence” the allegations center around. As Britain has showed, the case for this war does not stand up well to scrutiny, however, and the administration would clearly prefer to keep them in recess until the war is already under way.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.