SYRIA; Congressional Record Vol. 162, No. 94

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SYRIA

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from West

Virginia (Mr. Mooney) for 5 minutes.

Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia. Mr. Speaker, on May 1 of last year, I

came to this floor to speak on behalf of the Syrian people. I called

for stronger leadership from our Commander in Chief, President Barack

Obama, in the Syrian conflict. Specifically, I urged the President to

establish no-fly zones to protect innocent lives. At that time, 200,000

Syrians had already died.

The administration has failed to act, and, today, Syria remains in

crisis. The number of Syrians killed through the civil war has now

doubled to 400,000. Many of these casualties are civilians: women,

children, doctors, and teachers. So, Mr. Speaker, I come to this floor

again to say that this slaughter of innocent human life must end, and

it will not end unless the United States takes the lead fearlessly and

immediately.

I meet regularly with Syrian Americans who live in my congressional

district in Charleston, West Virginia. They have told me the stories of

their friends and families in the city of Aleppo, which is a financial

and cultural center in Syria. Aleppo is now on fire and under siege.

Just last week, a civilian bus was the victim of an airstrike where 10

were killed, including three women and two children.

Sadly, this type of violence is a daily occurrence in Aleppo and

elsewhere in Syria. Hospitals, markets, schools, bus stations,

warehouses: none of these places are off limits for bombings and

destruction. If America does not take immediate actions to end the

current humanitarian crisis, thousands more will die, and we will look

back on this period of history knowing that America failed both the

Syrian people and the cause of freedom.

We must move quickly to protect the innocent civilians who are under

attack. This means America must use its influence to stop the current

flurry of airstrikes on civilian areas, and Russia must be part of this

solution. If America fails to lead in negotiating a cease-fire

immediately, the catastrophic losses of life will continue.

We must accomplish a longer term cessation of hostilities, and we

must allow the Syrian people free movement so that the innocent are

able to escape harm's way. A no-fly zone must be established so that

Syria is able to heal into a place that promotes justice and freedom

for all citizens.

Does this photo of Syria look familiar? You may remember seeing

similar destruction in Bosnia almost 20 years ago. This is Bosnia. The

war in Bosnia in the mid-1990s provides a thought-provoking blueprint

as we search for solutions in Syria. With the disintegration of

Yugoslavia in 1992, the region devolved into an ethnic civil war--first

in Croatia, then in Bosnia. Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic began

instituting a policy of ethnic cleansing by which whole populations

were forced from their homes and were killed.

For 4 years, the United States remained passive in the conflict, but

in the summer of 1995, under President Bill Clinton, America took

decisive military action with a series of airstrikes that brought

Milosevic to the bargaining table, that forced peace, and that,

ultimately, removed Milosevic from power. Today, Bosnia and Croatia are

flourishing countries and are top destinations for many international

tourists. Here is Bosnia today.

We must apply these lessons of the war in Bosnia to the current

conflict in Syria. The United States must take decisive leadership in

returning long-term stability to Syria. Unless America and our allies

are willing to use force, Russian and Syrian leaders will not respect

us or have reason to negotiate peace.

To enable the citizens of Syria to live free from fear and to thrive,

we must do at least three things: establish safe zones along Syria's

border with Turkey; ramp up our efforts to train Syrian opposition

forces who have proven they are not extremists; and help Syria

institute a new coalition government. Peace in Syria is impossible

while Assad remains in control. He has proven this point time and again

by his reckless and evil use of chemical weapons and other cruel tools

of war on his own people.

America cannot address the humanitarian crisis and restore long-term

stability to Syria on our own. We must engage with our partners around

the world who share a mutual interest in the cause of freedom. But, no

matter what, President Barack Obama must act now, or even more lives

could be lost. I encourage my colleagues in this chamber to join me in

this call to action.

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