Dear Friends,

This week the House and Senate voted to authorize President Obama to use American resources through December 11 to arm and train Syrian rebels to help them in their fight against the terrorist forces of the Islamic state known as ISIS and to defend themselves from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

I voted against this measure for several reasons. One reason is that these rebel groups that are determined ‘moderate’ enough to receive American aid were, until recently, fighting alongside the ISIS terrorists we want to stop. They had joined to fight the Syrian regime and it would be very difficult to determine who, if anyone, would be willing to work with the U.S. to hunt down and defeat ISIS.

Another reason I voted against this plan is that President Obama seems to lack conviction that this strategy can succeed and he gives little assurance that he will commit to it as a winning solution. And as I found after casting my vote, I was in knowledgeable company with the majority of my colleagues who have served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and even Vietnam voted against this plan as well. We need a strategy that the President, our armed forces, and the American people can be confident will win the fight against this latest surge of terrorism.

I will continue to watch this issue very closely over the coming months as we will have another chance to adjust this plan when authorization ends in December. As I do so, please let me know your thought and concerns with this and other issues.

Sincerely,