John Conyers: “If there is one simple lesson that we can take away from our involvement in conflicts overseas, it is this: beware of…”

“If there is one simple lesson that we can take away from our involvement in conflicts overseas, it is this: beware of unintended consequences. As was made vividly clear with the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion decades ago, overzealous military assistance or the hyperweaponization of a conflict can have destabilizing consequences and, ultimately, undercut our own national interests. It is for this reason that I offer this bipartisan amendment with my colleague, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho), and others to prevent funds in this bill from being used to transfer man-portable air defense systems, known as ``MANPADS,'' to parties in the Syrian civil war. MANPADS, also known as ``shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles,'' can be fired at an aircraft by individuals on the ground, and they can be easily hidden or transported in the trunk of a car. According to the Los Angeles Times: U.S. and Israeli officials have feared that they could be used by terrorists to bring down commercial airliners. Leaders of the Syrian opposition movements have told The Wall Street Journal and other news outlets that they are actively seeking the transfer of MANPADS from the U.S. and our allies and that U.S. officials continue to consider these requests. I urge the support of the amendment.”