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Antiwar protesters disrupt US Senate hearing on Syria

04 September 2013 03:53 (UTC +04:00)

Members of peace activist group CODEPINK reacted to statements by US Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel who were making a strong case for military action against the Syrian government on Tuesday over allegation that it used chemical weapons near the Syrian capital last month.

CODEPINK co-founder and antiwar activist Medea Benjamin shouted “We don’t want another war,” before being grabbed by security guards and led out of the hearing.

“Nobody wants this war. Cruise missiles, launching cruise missiles, means another war. The American people do not want this,” Benjamin said.

In his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kerry claimed the evidence is clear the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was responsible for the August 21 attack and that Americans cannot "be spectators to slaughter."

The push for military intervention came after President Obama announced on Saturday that he would seek congressional authorization for military strikes against Syria.

Multiple opinion polls have found that Americans widely oppose unilateral US missile strikes against Syria despite growing appetite in Washington for military intervention.