Oklahoma Senators are still masters of hypocrisy…

An Oklahoma senator says he is opposed to U.S. military action in Syria.

Sen. Jim Inhofe issued a statement calling on President Obama to present a detailed plan of action to Congress.

It stated, “What we are seeing in Syria is abominable as thousands upon thousands of innocent children and families are being murdered while millions more are being driven from their homes. Today, I told the administration that I cannot support military action in Syria unless the president presents to Congress his broader strategy in the region that addresses our national security interests and the budget to support it.”

President Obama has said he has not made a decision yet about a strike on Syria but says he is evaluating his options.

The immediate and proportional airstrike against the Syrian’s Shayrat Airfield was a justified and appropriate response to the Assad regime’s indiscriminate and heinous chemical attack on Syrian civilians. Through this strike, President Trump signaled to Assad, Russia and the rest of the world that egregious violations of international law and norms of behavior will not go unanswered by the new administration. The United States, under the Trump administration, will play an emboldened leadership role worldwide; the days where our enemies don’t fear us and our allies don’t trust us are over.

The world is as dangerous now as at any time in my lifetime and the complex situation in Syria highlights that danger. These strikes underscore the requirement to immediately begin to repair the damage the Obama administration did by slashing military budgets and gutting military readiness, weakening the position of the U.S. globally. We must rebuild our military and national security so that we may achieve peace through strength. I applaud the president for his action.

“I remain opposed to U.S. military intervention in Syria’s civil war,” said Lankford, whose correspondence from constituents has been overwhelmingly against U.S. action. “It is my belief that U.S. military involvement in Syria’s civil war is not in our national interest. I will review the classified materials in Washington, DC, but from what I have heard to date, the proposal on the table does not achieve our larger goal in the Middle East of stability or a reduction of chemical weapon threats. A limited missile strike will only weaken our hand in the Middle East when Assad claims a year from now that he beat the rebels and the Americans. We must continue to engage diplomatically and with our allies to ensure our strategic goals in the region remain achievable.

Bashar al-Assad is a ruthless tyrant who kills his own people and breeds terrorism throughout the Middle East. The latest chemical attack on innocent people is another chapter in a tragic pattern that has gone on for far too long. No one should expect the United States to ignore a dictator that commits war crimes and uses chemical weapons against his own people. Russia assured the international community that Syria was free of chemical weapons, but the Russian promises have proved false and they have demonstrated their inability or unwillingness to restrain Assad. It's time for the international community to join the United States and demand that Assad step down and allow the refugees scattered around the globe to return to their homes and be able to pursue peace.