RICHMOND, VA - The Green Party of Virginia, in accordance with international law,
condemns all unilateral military intervention against the sovereignty of another country, whether
by the United States, Russia, or the European Union. The only appropriate venue for the
application of military power abroad is through the United Nations unless the United States has
been directly and decisively attacked by a foreign state.

The Green Party believes strongly that peace is the only means by which violent conflict abroad
can be resolved. President Donald Trump’s previous strike in Syria clearly failed to eliminate, or
even delay, the use of chemical weapons in the state. Former President Barack Obama’s
negotiations with Russia to remove chemical weapons from Syria was far more successful in
delaying their use, although his administration’s general policy of arming militias in the region
undermined the agreement’s long-term success. Indeed, long-term security and peace in Syria,
the Middle East, and around the globe can only be accomplished through peaceful diplomacy
and by strengthening our communal, human bonds. Violence has only and will only produce
more violence.

Moreover, the headlong rush into bombing another sovereign nation is both militarily and
fiscally irresponsible. At best, this strike will accomplish nothing but the death of civilians and
the waste of American tax dollars. At worst, it will engage this country in yet another quagmire
in the Middle East born out of a short-sighted policy of regime change. The tombstone of every
soldier and civilian who has died in Iraq and Afghanistan is a solemn testament to the terrible
costs that Americans will bear from the foolishness of reckless military and executive branch
officials. Rather, the Green Party of Virginia calls on the United States to await a report from the
United Nations detailing the exact nature of the attack prior to working with that body to devise a
meaningful, long-term solution. Bryce Davis, co-chair of the Green Party of Virginia, argues this
point forcefully, stating that, “ordering a military strike before a full analysis by the Organisation
for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is a dangerous escalation of US-involvement in the
Syrian conflict. Inflaming tensions with Russia, to levels not seen since the Cold War, is an
affront to peace in our times. Innocent lives are not just a number on a news broadcast, and
should not be treated as such.” The Green Party of Virginia as a whole concurs.