SYRIA; Congressional Record Vol. 159, No. 65

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Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, today I and my colleagues are here to

speak about Syria. The strategic and humanitarian costs of this

conflict continue to be devastating, not just for the people of Syria

but for vital American interests. As today's Washington Post editorial

makes clear, nearly all of the terrible consequences that those opposed

to intervention predicted would happen if we intervened in Syria have

happened because we have not.

There is mounting evidence that chemical weapons have been used by

the Asad regime. As many of our colleagues have noted--including

Senator Feinstein, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee--

President Obama's redline on Syria has been crossed. But instead of

acting, the Obama administration has called for additional evidence to

be collected by U.N. investigators who have not yet set foot in Syria

and probably never will. In the absence of more robust action, I fear

it will not be long before Asad takes this delay as an invitation to

use chemical weapons again on an even larger scale.

Moreover, as I have said before, by drawing a redline on chemical

weapons, the President actually gave the Asad regime a green light to

use every other weapon in his arsenal with impunity. More than 70,000

Syrians have been killed indiscriminately with snipers, artillery,

helicopter gunships, fighter jets, and even ballistic missiles. Indeed,

according to a recent Human Rights Watch report, more than 4,300

civilians have been killed by Syria's airstrikes alone since July 2012.

At the same time, Iran and its proxy Hezbollah are building a network

of militias inside Syria and the al-Qaida-aligned al-Nusra Front has

gained unprecedented strength on the ground. According to estimates

published in the media, some believe there were no more than a few

hundred al-Nusra fighters in Syria last year, but today it is widely

believed there could be thousands of extremist fighters inside Syria.

They are gaining strength by the day because they are the best, most

experienced fighters. They are well-funded and are providing

humanitarian assistance in the parts of Syria where people need it

most.

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