THE SYRIAN CRISIS; Congressional Record Vol. 159, No. 119

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THE SYRIAN CRISIS

(Mr. ENGEL asked and was given permission to address the House for 1

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, as the ranking member on the House Foreign

Affairs Committee, I want to associate myself with the remarks of

President Obama last night in his speech to the Nation.

I, like everyone else, hope that a diplomatic solution can be found

and that

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somehow, between Russia, Syria and the United States, we can find

common ground where Assad will not have his weapons of mass destruction

and will be put under international control.

But if this is possible, I believe it was only possible because there

is a credible threat of U.S. military might, and that causes the

equation of both the Russians and the Syrians to think about the United

States.

And that's why I believe so strongly that if this falls apart, we

need to strike in Syria to let Assad know that it is unacceptable to

gas the civilian population. It is indeed a war crime.

Many of us today watched pictures of children foaming at the mouth

and dying and shaking, and it's just something that will live with me

for the rest of my life.

So I think what the President's proposing is balanced; it's moderate.

I will vote \\\`\\\`yes,'' and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

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