Bay Area resident, officials react to President Trump's missile strikes in Syria
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Bay Area members of Congress and residents alike are speaking out about the U.S. missile attack on a Syrian airbase and the alleged chemical weapon attack that sparked it.
Syrian-born Walnut Creek businessman Ziad Aljamal says he's no fan of President Trump, but he applauds the missile attack as an important first step.
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"I think the Trump Administration has to take decisive action. Not just a one-time hit," said Aljamal.
But, he says forcing Syrian President Bashar Al Assad from power must be the endgame.
"This is a man who has caused a half a million people's deaths. He has no place in leading Syria," said Aljamal.
In a statement, Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, said the attack constituted a "proportional response" but the administration didn't get congressional approval as required by the constitution.
"I'm not willing to go to war in Syria," said Speier while speaking to the League of Women voters Friday.
"I think the president has intentions that go beyond using Tomahawk missiles shot into airstrips and that can only be done with the aumf being authorized by congress," said Speier.
In the meantime, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, was more critical. She called the launching of 59 Tomahawk Cruise Missiles "a dangerous military escalation into the Syrian civil war and are without legal justification."
East Bay Democrat Mark Desaulnier says the U.S. needs a strategy. In a statement, he said, "These rash airstrikes alone are not sufficient to combat the war crimes perpetrated by the Assad regime."
Click here for full coverage on the crisis in Syria.
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