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Last Updated on October 30, 2015.

CREDO: Obama’s Syria announcement a “broken promise”

CREDO Action released the statement below in response to reports that the Obama administration plans to deploy special operations forces in Syria:

“Putting boots on the ground in Syria is both a broken promise by the President and bad policy,” said Zack Malitz, campaign manager at CREDO Action. “In 2013 President Obama stated unequivocally that he would ‘not put American boots on the ground in Syria,’” Malitz continued. “By breaking that promise today, President Obama is putting American lives at risk and drawing the United States further into a conflict that can not be resolved militarily.”

CREDO Action, part of CREDO Mobile, is a social change network of 3.8 million activists, sending millions of petition signatures and more than 100,000 phone calls to decision-makers each year. CREDO Action members also participate in meetings, protests and other direct actions for progressive change.

Peace Action Statement on Sending U.S. Ground Troops into Syria

“The announcement today that the President is sending U.S. ground troops to Syria was as predictable as it is disappointing. We should know by now that the first law of military conflicts is escalation. That’s why sending these troops into battle should trouble all Americans. With the “no boots on the ground” promise broken there’s no telling how many U.S. troops will ultimately be sent to Iraq and Syria.

Over a year into the U.S.-led bombing campaign what have we accomplished? The United States has spent over $4.75 billion on over 6059 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria.[1] Watching the tragic refugee crisis spreading, we know that more bombing isn’t making the Syrian people any safer. And as the United States drops thousands of bombs, angering thousands of people in two Middle Eastern nations, it’s not making the American people any safer either.

On the contrary, a U.S. led attack in Syria, with its inevitable civilian casualties, strengthens recruitment for ISIS. Adding U.S. ground troops is just throwing gasoline on the fire. Instead, we need sustained diplomacy to end the Syrian civil war and we need to significantly increase humanitarian aid for the victims of the conflict.”

October 30, 2015