Ileana Ros-Lehtinen: “I believe that Syria's occupation of Lebanon and questionable policies toward terrorist groups are reprehensible. I also…”

“I believe that Syria's occupation of Lebanon and questionable policies toward terrorist groups are reprehensible. I also believe it is important for the Syrian government to realize that Americans of every political stripe (including those who, like me, opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq) are aware of and disapprove of many of Syria's actions. I believe it is entirely appropriate for the United States to apply political and economic pressure on Syria to change its policies. However, I have decided to vote against the Syria Accountability Act tonight. I am concerned about the increasing bellicose statements we have been hearing from London. I am concerned that our President may be setting the stage for the imposition of his vision of democracy in more and more places, and that he may use the many findings, senses of Congress, and statements of policy in this Act to promote actions that are contrary to the best interests of the United States. This act is filled with nonbinding provisions that build a case against Syria, based on soft intelligence and reasonable, but undocumented, assumptions. Ultimately, I fear that those provisions could be used to build a case for a military intervention against Syria.”