Rep. Adam Schiff, California Democrat, said Tuesday that the coalition of Arab countries that helped the U.S. strike the Islamic State in Syria overnight is a good sign that America is not in the fight alone.
“These Arab countries now very much have skin in the game, they’re going to have a target on their back for ISIS,” he said on MSNBC.
While the strikes are a good start, Mr. Schiff said that airstrikes alone will not defeat the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, and that it could take multiple years to fully get rid of the terrorist group.
“I do think we have to be realistic about what we can achieve through the air,” he said. “We can disrupt, we may to some degree be able to degrade, but we can’t defeat from the air.”
Still, he said the thinks the president is going against the constitution by striking without an authorization from Congress and that lawmakers should work to pass a new authorization as soon as possible.
“ISIL has not been an immediate threat, definitely a long-term threat, maybe a mid-term, but that doesn’t allow under our constitution the president to go to war with the group without congressional authorization,” he said.
• Jacqueline Klimas can be reached at jklimas@washingtontimes.com.
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