BOSTON (WHDH) - Members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation criticized President Donald Trump for his decision to attack Syria, calling on him to outline a strategy moving forward.
Sen. Ed Markey said Trump and his administration need a strategy along with their tactics and said they are suffering from “political whiplash.”
“First, they said removing Assad from power is not America’s objective. Now they insist on exactly the opposite,” said Markey. The senator also said Trump was “cruel and inhumane” by refusing to accept Syrian refugees but is now concerned for the Syrian people.
Markey’s fellow senator Sen. Elizabeth Warren agreed that Trump should drop his plan to ban refugees and criticized his tactics on Twitter.
“The president’s erractic approach to Syria is not a strategy. It underscores why our Constitution doesn’t let presidents wage war alone,” said Warren.
Rep. Joe Kennedy III asked questions about what comes next.
“Before we go to war with another country in the Middle East,” said Kennedy, “we need to understand what our goals are, what success looks like, what it’s gonna take, the burden we are gonna put on the men and women in uniform and their families and what our allies are willing to do.”
Rep. Seth Moulton, an Iraq War veteran, said the American people, especially the troops, need a clear strategy.
“I understood that when I went on patrol at night,” said Moulton, “when I risked my life, it was to achieve a political end state. It was to support the Iraqi government so ultimately we could go home.”
Moulton also questioned why the president sent missiles into Syria while still refusing to allow victims of the Assad regime to seek refugee in America. He said the President needs to explain exactly what he is trying to achieve.
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