Chris Gibson Leads House Effort on Syrian Conflict

Congressman Chris Gibson, the 19th congressional district's Republican representative, has been keeping himself busy in the House of Representatives as of late: visiting the fine folks of Fort Plain following their devastating flood last week and working for passage of the new farm bill.

But his most important congressional project involves foreign affairs, or more specifically our role in the Syrian conflict.

Gibson, along with a bipartisan contingent of Congressmen, introduced legislation prohibiting the U.S. government from sending or aiding the Syrian opposition to Bashar al-Assad's regime without explicit congressional authorization in any form, due to concerns of increasing U.S. involvement in the embattled nation's conflict through means other than humanitarian.

Although Congress is unlikely to support such a measure, with Republican hawks keeping all options open and Democratic idealists committed to an international solution, I find it rather fortunate Schoharie County's elected representative is in the forefront of one of the world's most important geopolitical situations developing today.