Washington congressman surprised by response on Syria at Seattle town hall
Sep 9, 2013, 7:21 AM | Updated: 10:11 am
Television news lights await the start of activity on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Sept. 9, 2013, as both houses of Congress return to full legislative session today for the first time since early August, including Washington Representative Jim McDermott. Debate over whether to launch a missile strike against Syria for use of chemical weapons has overtaken plans for lawmakers to tackle looming budget problems that have been building for months. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
As Congress weighs whether we should wage a battle against Syria over the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime, Congressman Jim McDermott returned home to hear what people in Seattle think should be done. What he heard surprised him.
About a thousand people filled the hall at University Temple United Methodist Church in Washington’s 7th Congressional District. Dozens of them waited for their chance at the microphone to voice their opinions.
While McDermott says the phone calls to his office have been 100 to 1 opposed to U.S. military action in Syria, he heard from a lot of people in favor of action at the meeting Sunday night.
“Syrians in the community, very strongly wanting the United States to strike. I had not heard that before,” says McDermott. “It was very interesting to hear them say ‘We want you to bomb our country because we want to get rid of Assad.’ That was probably the biggest surprise to me.”
McDermott has been opposed to taking military action. While he says he will consider the opposing opinions he heard Sunday, he says it likely won’t be enough to change his mind.
“The problem for me is not the bombing of airfields and that kind of stuff, so much as it is what will it be like a week, or ten days or two months later,” he says.
The congressman says so far, he has been convinced the Assad regime did use chemical weapons to kill hundreds of its own people. And he does believe something needs to be done. But McDermott says there are still a few options other than unilateral military action by the United States.
“The United Nations General Assembly comes into session on the 23rd of September, two weeks from today, and all the leaders of the world will be there,” says McDermott. “Some of us have suggested to the president that he go there and make his case.”
If all other options are flushed out, McDermott says he is willing to consider military operations against Syria. It’s a decision that will be hard to make.
“This is by far and away the most difficult decision to make – to send people to war, to be killed and to kill other people is a very weighty decision […] Someone said ‘Can you vote against your president?’ Sure. I have to vote for what I think is best for the country,” says McDermott.
President Obama will be making a national address Tuesday to make his case on Syria. The White House has not yet announced a time for the speech, but you can hear it live on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM when it happens.
