No to US Ground Troops in Syria

During the first Democratic presidential debate, the following exchange took place between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders regarding U.S. policy in Syria: [1]

CLINTON: … And, to — provide safe zones so that people are not going to have to be flooding out of Syria at the rate they are.

SANDERS: Well, let’s understand that when we talk about Syria, you’re talking about a quagmire in a quagmire. You’re talking about groups of people trying to overthrow Assad, other groups of people fighting ISIS. You’re talking about people who are fighting ISIS using their guns to overthrow Assad, and vice versa. I’m the former chairman of the Senate Veterans Committee, and in that capacity I learned a very powerful lesson about the cost of war, and I will do everything that I can to make sure that the United States does not get involved in another quagmire like we did in Iraq, the worst foreign policy blunder in the history of this country. We should be putting together a coalition of Arab countries who should be leading the effort. We should be supportive, but I do not support American ground troops in Syria.

CLINTON: ...Well, nobody does. Nobody does, Senator Sanders.

This was a deceptive response by Hillary Clinton, because as Clinton surely knows, for the US to establish “safe zones” in Syria would require the use of US ground troops, as Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. Centcom, has testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee. [2]

Urge Congress and the Administration to oppose any use of US ground troops in Syria, including to establish so-called “safe zones,” by signing our petition.

References:
1. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/14/us/politics/democratic-debate-transcript.html
2. http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/u-s-general-only-handful-of-syrian-fighters-remain-in-battle-against-isis/