House Intelligence Chair Mike Rogers (R., Mich.) emphasized the global implications of United States action in Syria Sunday on CNN.
With respect to President Obama's decision to seek Congressional approval for use of force in Syria, the Michigan congressman said he agreed Congress needs to share in the responsibility.
Rogers argued America's use of force in Syria will set a precedent for nations around the world in terms of their prospective pursuit of chemical and biological weapons.
"This isn't a reality TV show," Rogers said, "people will lose their lives, [...] nations moving forward will make decisions on chemical and biological weapons based on what we do here":
GLORIA BERGER: Mr. Chairman, though, don't you think a lot of your colleagues believe that the president decided for a vote, because he wanted a congressional buy-in to share responsibility?
MIKE ROGERS: Well, listen, why shouldn't Congress share in the responsibility? If you believe in the War Powers Act, which I do, if you believe in the constitution of the United States that firmly puts in the first article the responsibility for Congress to provide for the general defense, that means that we're involved in this discussion. And we should be. And I think it sends an excellent decision to the rest of the world. A very stern, very firm decision that we're serious about the proliferation of chemical weapons. You think about a country like North Korea that many believe has a large stockpile of chemical weapons and biological weapons, pursuing its nuclear program, same in Iran, same in other places in the world. We better send a very clear message in a unified way that we're not going tolerate proliferation of weapon of mass destruction, let alone their use. And if you don't send that message, that has real world consequences. This isn't a reality TV show. I mean, at the end of the day, this -- there's something that will actually happen. People will lose their lives. Nations will make a decision moving forward on chemical and biological weapons based on what we do here. And so, again, we cannot make this about the president versus Congress, or him shuffling off responsibility. We can have all of those debates another time. This is really about the credibility of the United States of America standing up for an anti-proliferation and use of chemical and biological weapons. It's that serious.
Full interview: