Washington DC- Today U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) released the following statement after the Administration’s announcement on Syira:
“The President has confirmed that Syria’s Bashar al-Assad has crossed a red line by using chemical weapons against his own people. The time for U.S. action is overdue. Assad must go, but this will not happen without decisive leadership from the United States. Yesterday I spoke with the military leader of the Syrian opposition General Salim Idris and he reported that the situation inside the country is dire. Thousands of Assad’s troops and Hezbollah fighters are assembling outside Aleppo for a ground assault. If the U.S. is not prepared to provide more robust assistance then I fear that the moderate opposition forces will be defeated. The U.S. should move swiftly to shift the balance on the ground in Syria by considering grounding the Syrian air force with stand-off weapons and protecting a safe zone in northern Syria with Patriot missiles in Turkey. As I have said from the beginning of this conflict, the U.S. has deep national security interests in confronting Iran and Hezbollah. In recent weeks, both have gained the upper hand in this conflict and unless the U.S. considers swift action, I fear that these supporters of terrorism will be victorious in Syria and emboldened throughout the region.”
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