A new study has revealed that the US senators who approved a recent resolution authorizing war on Syria received 83 percent more campaign money from military contractors than the opponents of the plan.
The study by Maplight, a research organization that tracks the influence of money in politics in the US Congress, shows that the lawmakers at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who voted “Yes” on the resolution received a total amount of USD 728,497 from the military industry during their election campaigns, while the senators voting “No” received USD 278,390 from such donors.

On September 3, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 10-7 to pass a resolution that would allow US President Barack Obama to resort to military action against Syria when needed.

The plan will have to be passed by the full Senate and House of Representatives before it can be sent to Obama for final approval.

From among the proponents of the resolution in the committee, Senator John McCain was the top receiver of donations from military contractors and defense interests, receiving USD 176,300 from the industry.

The war rhetoric against Syria first gained momentum on August 21, when the militants operating inside the country and the foreign-backed Syrian opposition claimed that over a thousand people had been killed in a government chemical attack on militant strongholds on the outskirts of Damascus.

The Syrian government categorically rejected the allegation, saying the militants carried out the attack to draw in military intervention.

On September 9, Syria welcomed a proposal made by Russia to put its chemical weapons stockpile under international supervision. The Russian plan was aimed at averting a US military strike.

After three days of talks in Geneva, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced an agreement on Saturday that would eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons by mid-2014.

By Press TV

 

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