Syria (Executive Session); Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 103

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Syria

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I am here today with my colleague

Senator Graham to express my profound concern about the humanitarian

tragedy that is currently unfolding in Idlib and northern Hama in

Syria.

It is hard to imagine that after 8 years of war, the greatest

humanitarian disaster in Syria might still be before us, because

clearly what we have seen in the past 8 years is a horrible

humanitarian tragedy, a civil war that has involved, really,

international players and that has led to the deaths of hundreds of

thousands of Syrians and to the displacement of millions more. But with

the escalated attacks that have occurred since late April, the Syrian

regime and its Russian and Iranian allies are threatening a population

of approximately 3 million there in Idlib. Of those 3 million, 1

million are children. This is a region that is strained by hundreds of

thousands of internally displaced people who have already fled from

Assad's forces in other parts of Syria and neighboring countries. Just

last Thursday alone, observers counted over 50 airstrikes in this

region from early morning to early afternoon, and that was on top of

artillery-shelling that was going on.

Last December, Senator Graham and I came to the floor to warn about

the dangers of President Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from

northeast Syria. I felt very strongly about that because last summer I

had a chance to travel with Senator Graham to Syria, and we saw the

important work that the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent

Resolve and its Syrian partner forces were doing there. We saw

communities like Manbij city that had recovered after 3 years of

occupation by ISIS. We saw that Syrians were returning to that

northeast region of Syria where it was peaceful, and they were growing

crops again. We visited the market. We walked around without any fear

that terrorists were going to bomb us.

Local multiethnic residents saw the positive presence of U.S. troops

and the value of U.S. global leadership. In fact, as we drove down the

road and went by children, they flashed a \\\`\\\`V'' sign for \\\`\\\`victory''

when they saw it was the U.S. military.

Together with our partners, the Syrian Democratic Forces, we made

significant gains against ISIS, but that progress, sadly, is not

guaranteed. Unfortunately, what we are seeing now in Idlib is the

result of a confused U.S. strategy in Syria.

When I spoke on the floor here in December, I warned that a hasty and

ill-informed withdrawal could embolden ISIS and threaten the gains that

U.S. partners have made. We discussed the fact that it would also cede

the accomplishments of U.S. forces and our allies to Assad, Russia, and

Iran.

What we are seeing now in Idlib and northern Hama is Assad's and his

foreign supporters' military solution. We are seeing indiscriminate

bombing and shelling that destroys schools and hospitals and that sets

fire to farmers' fields. The latest surge in violence has killed dozens

of people. It has destroyed thousands of acres of crops. It has forced

another 300,000 people to flee their homes.

I would urge President Trump to listen to his military and diplomatic

advisers and to recognize that an absence of U.S. leadership in Syria

would give a free hand to Assad and to his Russian and Iranian allies,

because clearly they are not our allies.

The people of Syria face danger at the hands of ISIS and of their own

government. Unfortunately, they have

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very few options left, but what they do have is the voice of the

international community, and it is now up to us to stand against the

carnage in Idlib once and for all.

I urge President Trump to use U.S. leadership to oppose the

humanitarian disaster that Syrian and Russian forces continue to create

in Idlib and northern Hama and to work with our allies to truly bring

an end to this civil war and this disaster that has been created, the

humanitarian disaster that has been created.

I yield to my colleague from South Carolina.

Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I want to compliment Senator Shaheen for

doing her homework on Syria\\--traveling, understanding the strategic

implications of losing in Syria for the United States and our allies.

In New Hampshire and South Carolina, there is not a lot of talk about

Syria. It is not that people don't care; it is just that we have our

plate full here at home with all of our needs in our own backyard. The

thing I can tell people throughout the country: You ignore these

problems at our own peril.

The wave of refugees that came out of Syria when the civil war first

began is going to replicate itself--or I guess we can all sit on the

sidelines and watch 3 million people be killed. I hope we don't do

that.

Idlib is a province in northwestern Syria. The opposition is

basically in a corner near the border with Turkey. Assad, with the help

of Iran and mostly Russia, is trying to break their will and literally

destroy them.

Within this group of people--about 3\\\\1/2\\\\ million--there are some

really hardcore al-Qaida types--Al-Nusra, all kinds of names associated

with the groups--but they are radical Sunni Islamists, and they would

bring ISIS back roaring. We don't want them to win the day, and we sure

as heck don't want Iran to control Syria.

I think it would be a huge mistake for the United States to let Assad

prevail in this war, and let me tell you why: It never ends with him.

Every radical Sunni Islamist group in the world will use Assad's

presence in Syria as a recruiting tool. He is a proxy of Iran. Without

Iran, there would be no Assad. So you create a great recruiting

opportunity for radical Islam if you let Assad prevail.

On multiple occasions, our country has said Assad must go. Why?

Because he is a war criminal. He has lost all legitimacy. Russia will

have basically trumped the United States--no pun intended--in the

backyard of the Middle East, Syria.

President Trump, to his credit, changed his decision to withdraw all

forces in northeastern Syria and have a holding force with more

international involvement to prevent ISIS from coming back in the

Manbij area, making sure that Iran doesn't come down and take over,

with Assad, that part of Syria and that Turkey doesn't come into

northeastern Syria to deal with the Syrian Democratic Forces, the

Kurdish elements of the YPG.

A small American contingent force has brought some stability to

northeastern Syria. Our Kurdish allies who stepped up to the plate feel

like they are in a better spot--we have to realize that Turkey has a

legitimate concern about the YPG elements--but to keep everybody apart

and make sure ISIS doesn't come back.

Nobody is talking about Idlib. President Trump, to his credit, did

tweet on June 2--just a few weeks ago--\\\`\\\`Hearing word that Russia,

Syria and, to a lesser extent, Iran, are bombing the hell out of Idlib

Province in Syria, and indiscriminately killing many innocent

civilians. The World is watching this butchery. What is the purpose,

what will it get you? STOP!'' Good tweet.

The only way it is going to stop is for Russia and Iran to pay a

price for helping Assad. It is Russian jets with Syrian jets that are

indiscriminately bombing civilians in Idlib.

If Idlib falls and these people flush out of Syria, you are going to

have another wave of refugees coming to Turkey, which is saturated, and

eventually Turkey is going to open up the floodgates back into Europe,

and we are going to repeat this all over again.

To my European friends and allies, you have been reluctant--except

the French and the British--to help us in northeastern Syria with a

holding force. How many times do you have to see the same movie to

understand we need to do something different?

What do you tell the European population? That we don't have the will

to put a few thousand troops in Syria to make sure that we are not

flooded in Europe with people fleeing for their lives? It just never

ceases to amaze me how quickly we forget the lessons of the past.

As to Idlib, they have broken the agreement we had. Turkey, to its

credit, has been trying to find a political solution in that part of

Syria.

Senator Shaheen and I both know that the only way you end this war is

through a political negotiation in Geneva. By having some American

forces with our partners in northeastern Syria, we have leverage over

the outcome. If we could stand Assad down in Idlib, we would have more

leverage to allow the Syrian people to heal their own country.

As these attacks escalate--and they will--the President and his team,

in conjunction with the civilized world, needs to come up with an Idlib

plan.

What I want to do with Senator Shaheen is come up with some sanctions

or some policies directed at the impending disaster called Idlib. I

want us to put on the record our objection to what Russia, Iran, and

Assad are doing and try to craft some consequences and actually work

with the administration to stop what will be inevitable if we don't

send the right signal, which will be the slaughter of hundreds of

thousands of innocent people, a new wave of refugees, and putting

radical Sunni Islam on steroids, because they will come to the fight if

you don't.

So here is your choice, to the free world: If you don't get involved

in Syria and try to end this madness, radical Sunni Islam will gladly

take your place, and that is not a good outcome. There is no winning in

that situation. If Assad wins, we lose. If the radical Sunni Islamist

al-Nusra types win, we lose.

The good news is, the best way to win is to help the Syrian people.

The Syrian people don't want to be dictated anymore by Assad, which is

how this all started. They are tired of living under his control. They

are not radical people by nature. They are not turning to ISIS as the

answer to Assad. Give them a choice. It is in our interest to be

involved to some extent.

We are not the world's policemen, but we are the glue that holds the

world together, and Syria can be put back together only through peace

negotiations where the parties have some leverage over their

adversaries. It is not just a humanitarian crisis in the making. This

is going to change the balance and the power in Syria and the Mideast

in a very bad way. You are going to have a never-ending conflict

between Iranian proxies and radical Sunni Islamic groups in Syria

unless you defang both. Doing nothing sounds good on paper, until you

realize what happens when you ignore a problem.

I will end with this. On September 10, 2001, America did not have one

soldier in Afghanistan, not one dime of aid to Afghanistan. We didn't

even have an ambassador to Afghanistan. We just watched as the Taliban

took over. They put women in soccer stadiums and killed them for sport

because they wore the burka too short, and they blew up statues of

Buddha. We were under the illusion, well, that is their problem, not

ours. Well, it eventually became our problem because the people doing

this stuff to women and religious artifacts of other cultures are

compelled by God to deal with us.

If you think leaving them alone ends this conflict, you don't

understand what the conflict is about. They are driven by a religious

ideology that has no place for anybody in this room, our friends in

Israel, or moderate Muslims. So you can deal with them now or you can

deal with them later.

Assad is in a different category but is just as evil and uses the

same kind of butchery. I am here to tell you--to Europe: You had better

up your game when it comes to Idlib because you are going to pay a

heavy price.

To the Trump administration, I really appreciate what you have done

in northeastern Syria. I appreciate the tweet of the President on June

2. But we have to do more than tweet. We, in

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the Senate, need to offer some assistance to the administration and our

allies, and, working with Senator Shaheen, we will try to find a way to

move forward. I appreciate her interests.

There is not a whole lot of upside in talking about things like this

in modern American politics. But you are always going to be viewed well

by history when you address a problem, when you stand up against evil,

and when you try to do something about it. It may not be popular for

the moment, but time will prove you right.

I thank Senator Shaheen.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.

The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.

Ms. ERNST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for

the quorum call be rescinded.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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