Ikaika Anderson on Syria: “We need to focus inwards”

Ikaika Anderson, a candidate seeking to fill Colleen Hanabusa’s congressional seat, published his position on Syria today:

As a candidate for the United States Congress, I believe it is important that you know where I stand on the current situation in Syria.

I think that we can all agree that the use of chemical weapons is a heinous and criminal act. Because of this, the United States must move with caution and must not act alone.

Unfortunately, the reality is that the credibility of the United States on the international stage remains tarnished.  For the U.S. to act alone, or with limited allied support, any action that we take in Syria will likely cause further strain on our relationships in the international community.  While evidence may point to the al-Assad regime for these atrocities, we must be guarded as to how far we are willing to intervene. History has shown us that it is far easier to remove a dictator than it is to rebuild a nation.

We as a country are already incredibly strained. We have been at war for almost 13 years now. The cost of this war has come in the form sacrifice—countless American lives, resources and at the expense of great national treasure.

Based on the current discussions and all reports to date, I cannot confidently support intervening with Syria at this time—I just cannot see what we would accomplish. It is unfortunate that commitments made in the past were based on the state of affairs at the time and have complicated the situation we are facing today.  We must let facts, common sense and open discourse guide America’s actions. Personally, I am thankful that Congress will have the opportunity to weigh in on this issue—only through them will the American people have a voice.

While we continue our attempts to nation-build outside of America, what is happening to education, healthcare, transportation, and renewable energy within our own country? Like many other Americans, I worry that too many of our resources are being spent on other countries and not being put towards our own people here at home.  We need to focus inwards.