Democratic Sen. Chris Coons called on President Trump to invest more in diplomacy and work with traditional American allies as a part of his Syrian strategy.
Senator @ChrisCoons on next move in Syria: "If you're going into a big fight, bring some big friends" https://t.co/0uIvseR2Ra— New Day (@NewDay) April 10, 2017
The Delaware senator said on CNN Monday that Trump’s budget, which cuts humanitarian aid and funding for the State Department, is short-sighted for what needs to be done in the Middle East. He called on Trump to rely more on diplomacy and work with allies in Europe instead of going alone with a military response.
“This is not the time to significantly cut our investments in diplomacy and development and humanitarian aid because navigating our way through the very complex crises in Syria and Iraq is going to be difficult and expensive,” Coons said.
He added, “If you’re going into a big fight, bring some big friends. Continuing to close the gaps created with our vital allies in NATO and Europe by President Trump’s irresponsible statements as a candidate is urgent work to be done by members of Congress, by members of the administration and by our senior diplomats.”
Coons also joined the chorus of lawmakers telling Trump to come to Congress before taking more military action against Bashar Assad’s regime.
He said he felt the missile strike ordered last week was an appropriate response to Assad’s use of chemical weapons, but it should be followed up with congressional authorization for more action.
“We need to hear a strategy,” he said. “It may get you a great bump in the polls, it may brush back [Chinese President] Xi Jinping and the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, it may push back Assad for a few days or weeks to launch a bunch of cruise missiles, but that’s not the same thing as having a strategy.”
“We need to work out a strategy and we need to do our job and authorize this use of force,” he said.
