Dropping bombs is not the answer to the crisis in Syria. There are other, better means to show Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the world that chemical weapons are intolerable, such as the latest international proposal for Assad to surrender his chemical weapons. Bombing Syria could increase the refugee crisis, further destabilize the region, and commit the U.S. to open-ended conflict. Even the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Martin Dempsey, told Congress that attacking Syria would "escalate and potentially further commit the United States to the conflict."

Dropping bombs is not the answer to the crisis in Syria. There are other, better means to show Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the world that chemical weapons are intolerable, such as the latest international proposal for Assad to surrender his chemical weapons. Bombing Syria could increase the refugee crisis, further destabilize the region, and commit the U.S. to open-ended conflict. Even the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Martin Dempsey, told Congress that attacking Syria would "escalate and potentially further commit the United States to the conflict."

Avaaz is calling on the presidents of Iran and the USA to stop the bloodshed in Syria. Join us in this campaign now. Just weeks ago innocent kids were gassed to death in their sleep, but it feels the world has forgotten them and got stuck in a debate between US strikes or doing nothing. Now there is a glimmer of hope for a peaceful way to stop these massacres. Syria's bloody war has been fuelled by rivalry between Iran, Assad's main backer, and the US and their allies. But this vile chemical attack has changed their discourse: Iran’s new moderate president condemned the gassing and Obama signalled he'd work with "anybody" to resolve the conflict. Let's urgently call on both leaders to sit down to talks and bring the warring parties together before any more lives are lost. Right now, the global drums of war are beating over Syria, but if enough of us make sure Rouhani and Obama know the world wants bold diplomacy, we could end the nightmare for thousands of terrified Syrian children under threat of new gas attacks. We have no time to lose. Join this urgent call now -- when we reach one million signers we will deliver the petition directly to the two presidents.

To save the lives of the Syrian children. To save the youth of Syria . To save the world because a brutal tyrant like Assad is willing to destroy the world to stay in power with the help of Russia & Iran and their Nuclear bombs .

Secretary of State John Kerry has proposed putting Syria's chemical weapons stockpile under international control. The proposal has a great deal of merit, and unlike military attacks, actually would prevent chemical warfare in the future. Syria, at the urging of its staunch ally Russia, has expressed a willingness to pursue this plan. We implore the President to avoid U.S. military involvement in the Syrian civil war, and pursue this constructive, peaceful outcome. Your voice matters, and I hope you'll sign on today.

I was terrified when Obama was planning too quickly and unilaterally to act against Syria. But now that he is engaging Congress, the American Public, and the world leaders in the discussion, I am deeply grateful and relieved. This is a vitally important and difficult decision. I admire the British for saying no to the speed of the decision when the intelligence was still incomplete. Bush's horrible rush to war in Iraq due to botched/prejudiced intelligence is still very clear in all our memories. It is healthy for a democracy to look at this rationally and comprehensively. Let us listen to Obama on Tuesday, September 10, do our own research, and listen to our own conscience. Regime change is never going to work, as we have hopefully learned. A strike to teach a lesson may be a good idea. I think the best solution would be to let Syria know that if another Chemical Weapons attack is ever used again, there will be immediate and damaging strikes at that time. All are fairly warned. All Syria's supporters will then be motivated to advise Syria to never do it again. They will be more accepting and I think more allies will cooperate/participate, if Syria makes that gross miscalculation a second time. It will be far less likely to cause World War III. Right now it is a hornets nest and anything is possible, with multiple retaliatory attacks probable.

When US President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in his first year in office, it reinforced the "Hope" that many of us felt. Now, with a push to war eerily similar to that of his Presidential predecessor, President Obama apparently wishes to prove his power through weapons, not diplomacy. This runs counter to the premise of the Prize and sullies the honor of other recipients such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi.

Over the last two and a half years my friends and their families in Syria have been displaced, killed or forced to flee Syria as a result of a massive violent campaign by the Assad Regime which uses aircraft, missiles, tanks, "barrel bombs" and now chemical weapons to terrorize and bomb those who rose up in peaceful protest demanding a free and democratic Syria. I want my friends and their families to be able to return home and rebuild Syria, but this is impossible without an end to the reign of terror being conducted by the Assad Regime against innocent civilians across the country.

There is a real possibility that the United States will soon engage in military action that will result in the deaths of innocent Syrian civilians, on the pretext that Syrians are killing innocent Syrian civilians. There should be an adjudication of complicity by an international tribunal before one nation sanctions another through the use of deadly military action.

The Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100) demand that leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives, Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi NOT call the vote to authorize the use of military force in Syria. We demand this for several reasons: 1. US Military Intervention will not bring justice, self determination, safety, security or freedom to the people of Syria. We believe that military attack being proposed to the crisis in Syria will only make the suffering of the Syrian people worse. The best most humane way forward is a peaceful, political settlement with all sides of the conflict at the table and expanding humanitarian aid for Syrian Refugees. 2. BYP100 has no confidence in this Congress’s ability to make sound decisions about foreign policy when it has consistently failed to make sound domestic policy. It is our belief that such an intervention would perpetuate the injustice black people in the United States are facing today. Congress committing Americans to pay for a unnecessary military intervention while refusing to pay for vital social and community Services within the United States as a whole and the Black community in particular due to sequestration budget cuts to vital programs, including SNAP and Head Start, is wrong, unjust and immoral. 3. BYP100 rejects this ‘Stand Your Ground’ approach to foreign policy because one government that is empowered to police the world is no different than Florida gun owners who are empowered by unjust laws to shoot first and ask questions later. For more information, view the blog post here: http://byp100.blackyouthproject.com/?p=158

I can not rationalize bombing Syria. No good will come of it. If we really care about helping the "Good People of Syria" then we should devote our attention to those poor people who have had to leave their homeland.

Instead of dropping bombs, the U.S. can and should use other, better means to show Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the world that chemical weapons are intolerable. President Obama can bring Assad to the International Criminal Court, and he can call for international negotiations. The U.S. can provide humanitarian aid to the millions of affected Syrians, and the U.S. can boycott trade with Syria, and other non-military means. Bombing Syria is likely to increase the refugee crisis, further destabilize the region, and commit the U.S. to open-ended conflict. Even the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Martin Dempsey, told Congress that attacking Syria would "escalate and potentially further commit the United States to the conflict." Rep. Schiff voted for the Iraq war. This week, he called the Iraq war "a terrible mistake" and said that "Iraq hangs over this debate like a big dark cloud and I think it will influence all of us." Let's learn from the past and not go down that road again. We can help the Syrian people and weaken Assad without military action.