Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) discussed his intention to vote against the resolution on military intervention in Syria Tuesday, saying a vital national security risk was not at play and questioning the long-term strategy of the Obama administration:
MCCONNELL: I've never been an isolationist and a vote against this resolution shouldn't be confused by anyone as a turn in that direction, but just as the most committed isolationist could be convinced of the need for intervention under the right circumstances when confronted with a threat, so, too, do the internationalists among us believe that all interventions are not created equal. All interventions are not created equal, and this proposal just does not stand up. So I will be voting against this resolution, a vital national security risk clearly not at play.
There are just too many unanswered questions about our long-term strategy in Syria, including the fact that this proposal is utterly detached from a wider strategy in the civil war there. And on the specific question of deterring the use of chemical weapons, the president's proposal appears to be based actually on a contradiction. Either we will strike targets that threaten the stability of the regime, something the president says he does not intend to do, or we will execute a strike so narrow as to be a mere demonstration. It's not enough, as General Dempsey has noted, to simply alter the balance of military power without carefully considering what's needed to preserve a functioning state after the fact.
We cannot ignore the unintended consequences of our actions, but we also cannot ignore our broader obligations in the world. I firmly believe that the international system that was constructed on the ashes of World War II rest upon the stability provided by the American military and by our commitments to our allies. It is a necessary role that only we can continue to fulfill in the decades to come, and especially in times like this, the United States cannot afford to withdraw from the world stage. My record reflects that belief and that commitment, regardless of which party has control of the White House.