A counter to Corker's pro-belligerence argument
[div class="export"]While at this point I have healthy skepticism that this offer will change the situation and it will be several days before we can fully determine its credibility, I do know that it never would have been floated if the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had not approved the authorization for the use of force last week, Sen. Bob Corker, ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.
I would argue that had there not been such great popular opposition to the attack, in the world, in polls and in the House, that the administration would not have worked so hard to find a peaceful solution, which they found (possibly by accident) in the Russia deal. With all our support behind them, they would have just gone to war.
Corker, and the administration, are using this result to argue that we should in general support war. I hope that's not the lesson from this. I am happy about this result because we appear to have avoided war.