Former congressman Dennis Kucinich (D., Ohio) said today that striking Syria would turn the United States military into “al-Qaeda’s air force.”

Kucinich, who voted against the Iraq War and campaigned for the Democratic nomination for president in 2004 and 2008, lambasted the idea that Obama could act without congressional authorization, which he said would be a violation of the Constitution. He also warned that intervening in Syria would entangle the United States in another war in the Middle East and encourage Islamists who are fighting the forces of Syrian president Bashar Assad.


“So what, we’re about to become al-Qaeda’s air force now?” Kucinich sarcastically asked The Hill.

He went on to warn against attempting to “minimize” an intervention by terming it a “targeted strike.” Such a strike, he said, would still constitute an act of war.

Kucinich also blasted the Obama administration for “rushing” into what he said could become a third world war, and he cast doubt on reports by rebels of governmental forces using chemical weapons. He declared that the use of chemical weapons in Syria was a “pretext.”

“The verdict is in before the facts have been gathered,” Kucinich said. “What does that tell you?”