Not known for throwing himself in the middle of contentious issues, Sen. Bob Casey is making a concerted effort to get his thoughts heard on the crisis in Syria.

The Senator has been busy releasing statements, making headlines, and appearing on television. In the past week he was interviewed on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News – including one of the Sunday shows. In his various appearances, Casey maintained a hard line on the need to keep forceful pressure on the Syrian government moving forward.

Over the weekend Casey summed up his position in a statement on the recent agreement between the U.S. and Russia.

“The announcement of an agreement between the U.S. and Russia on Syria’s chemical weapons is encouraging news,” Casey said. “Military intervention should always be a last resort. I have no doubt, however, that the threat of force is what brought both the Russians and the Assad regime to the table. We need to remain vigilant to ensure our national security objectives are met.”

Prior to the news that an agreement had been made, the Senator supported President Obama’s call for a military strike. At the same time, he was working with a bipartisan group of Senators to construct a plan that would delay a strike so long as Syria cooperated.

Casey’s surge to keep a public profile stems from the fact that he has long been an expert among his colleagues on this country that, up until recently, was not a major focus of U.S. foreign policy. Now that Syria is in the limelight, the work Casey put in behind the scenes is coming to the forefront of an important national dialogue.

In an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday, the Senator suggested that he might have more authority on this issue than many of his peers who are lining up to air out their opinions.

“The thing that I think over time gains you the most credibility is something real simple: hard work,” Casey stated. “Some who are talking a lot today haven’t done much for the last two years.”