Article: Dennis Kucinich: Timing of Attack In Syria So Close To Election Questioned

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported on Sunday that four U.S. helicopters conducted an attack on the Syrian side of the border with Iraq in which eight people were killed. SANA reports stated that American helicopters raided the village of Sukariya, 340 miles northeast of Damascus, and then returned to Iraqi airspace. The Syrian government claims that of the eight people who died, four were children.

"Saber rattling and attacks upon sovereign nations who did not attack us are unacceptable. We must question the timing. We are on the eve of national elections and we must be mindful of the Administration's past manipulation of security issues in order to influence public opinion," stated Kucinich. "We cannot stand by and let them use the lives of innocent people as pawns in their wrongful political objectives."

The attacks in Syria come at a sensitive time as U.S. and Iraqi lawmakers are engaged in negotiations regarding the status of forces agreement, which would legitimize the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq after the expiration of the UN mandate governing the American presence.

Kucinich opposed the war, offered a plan for withdrawal shortly after the US invasion, and opposes any agreement that would keep U.S. troops in Iraq.

"The Iraq war has already cost the lives of 4,189 Americans, more than a million innocent Iraqis and three to five trillion in ultimate costs. The only acceptable status of American forces is for the troops to immediately return to their homes and families," stated Kucinich.

"We must have an international peace-keeping and security force organized for the purposes of transitioning in to help secure Iraq as the U.S. leaves," he said, reciting one of the provisions of the Kucinich plan.

"Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and now Syria, instead of expanding an expensive war, we should be focusing on resolving our own financial crises' back home, putting Americans back to work and rebuilding our nation's infrastructure," added Kucinich.