Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates is backing President Barack Obama’s call to take military action in Syria, Politico reported Thursday.
In a statement, Gates, who served as secretary of defense under both Obama and former President George W. Bush, called on Congress to back the administration on Syria, saying a rejection of the authorization to use force would have “negative and dangerous consequences.”
“I strongly urge the Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, to approve the president’s request for authorization to use force in Syria,” Gates said in the statement. “Whatever one’s views on current U.S. policy toward Syria, failure by Congress to approve the request would, in my view, have profoundly negative and dangerous consequences for the United States not just in the Middle East but around the world both now and in the future.”
Gates led the Pentagon from 2006 until 2011. He’s the second former member of Obama’s cabinet to issue public support for military action in Syria, following former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
