Ka`u News Briefs Saturday, April 8, 2017

A STRONG STATEMENT AGAINST THE U.S. MISSILE STRIKE ON SYRIA COMES FROM KA`U'S CONGRESSWOMAN TULSI GABBARD, an Iraq war veteran and Major in the Hawai`i Army National Guard. Her interviews this week on national television and through other news services are followed by a statement she issued on Saturday: 

     "What President Trump did was illegal. Not only did he lack the Congressional authorization to launch a military strike against Syria. By launching missiles before the United Nations could collect evidence from the site of this week's chemical attacks in Syria, the White House has jeopardized the legitimacy of future attacks on chemical assets or the regime airbases used to deliver them.

     "If President (Bashaar al-) Assad is indeed guilty of this horrible chemical attack on innocent civilians, I will be the first to call for his prosecution, conviction and sentencing by the International Criminal Court. But the successful prosecution and conviction of war criminals in the International Criminal Court hinges on the UN’s ability to collect evidence. President Trump’s unilateral airstrikes inhibits our ability to gather the facts needed to present a legal case against the culprits responsible for the horrific chemical attacks," said Gabbard.

     "The fact is, Trump’s reckless escalation of the regime change war to overthrow the Syrian government will make things worse for the Syrian people, not better," contended the Congresswoman. "Have we learned nothing from our invasions of Iraq and Libya? The overthrow of Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi, brutal dictators who attacked their own people, has resulted in hundreds of thousands more civilians killed, millions more refugees, trillions of dollars wasted, and the strengthening of al-Qaeda, ISIS and other terrorist organizations. We risk the same outcome in Syria if we overthrow the Syrian government. Additionally, this attack on Syria brings the United States and Russia closer to a direct military confrontation.

     "There is a reason our Constitution is written to require Congressional approval to declare war on an another country -- so the people of our country have a voice and so our nation isn’t heedlessly thrown into war without a clear goal, strategy and endgame.

     "The stakes of war are too high to allow one individual to unilaterally and rashly make such a grave decision for our entire country.

     "The chemical attack in Syria is abhorrent and deserves a thorough investigation and prosecution according to international law. Yet we cannot allow this attack to be a rationale to throw aside our Constitution and further escalate the counterproductive regime change war that has already resulted in the deaths of over 400,000 Syrians and created the worst refugee crisis in modern history.

     On CNN on Friday, Gabbard said she is unsure of the claims that the Syrian leader was behind the chemical weapons attack, referring to a "number of theories." 

    Gabbard gave the example of false intelligence leading to the Iraq War, invasion and occupation, even though the administration took its case to the United Nations and to Congress where some members questioned the evidence on weapons of mass destruction, and voted against the war. With faulty intelligence, said Gabbard, "We launched a completely destructive, counterproductive war based on that intelligence which has now, years later, proven to be wrong."

     Concerning the blame for the more recent multitude of deaths of innocent people in Syria, Gabbard said, "There is responsibility that goes around. Standing here and pointing fingers does not accomplish peace for the Syrian people." 

      Gabbard also pointed to the cost of war, saying, "We have to take at a premium the cost of these wars not only on the Syrian people and the people in the Middle East but the cost of these wars here in the United States at a time where we don't have money to build the roads that we need here in Hawai`i or in other parts in the country. Why should we just blindly follow this escalation of a counterproductive regime change war, sending American taxpayer dollars on these failed regime change wars that we've seen too often in Iraq and Libya and now continuing in Syria?"

      Gabbard met with Assad in January, in Syria, saying she was advancing a peaceful settlement to the conflict. Gabbard will hold Town Hall meetings in Kona on Tuesday, April 11 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Kealakehe Intermediate School and in Hilo on Tuesday, April 18 from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Waiakea High School.

WINNING IN VOLLEYBALL, KA`U HIGH TROJANS ADVANCED the team's 7-1 record by dousing the Canefire from Keaau on Friday night. 

      Ka`u Trojans beat the Christian Liberty Canefire in a hard fought battle, 27-25, 17-25, 20-25, 25-19 and 15-13 on the opponents' home court. Taking the win sends the Trojans into playoff games for the Big Island Interscholastic Federation II championship.

      Ka`u standouts of the night included Pete Dacalio with 16 kills, Trevor Taylor with 14, Buddy Flores with 12 and Joven Padrigo with seven. The Trojans, however, led in service errors with 15 and the Canefire six. 

    Ka`u Coach Josh Ortega said he was proud that the Trojans stood up to the Canefire at their gym, which was packed with Canefire supporters. Both teams used a two-setter offense. For Ka`u, they were freshman Kobe Moses and senior Jamal Buyuan. 

     Ka`u's only loss this season was to Hawai`i Preparatory Academy.