http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3058588/posts
Engel, Corker: U.S. action in Syria may not wait
POLITICO ^ | August 25, 2013 | LEIGH MUNSIL
President Barack Obama should not necessarily wait for Congress to return from recess before taking action in Syria, two lawmakers said on “Fox News Sunday.”
“We have to move, and we have to move quickly,” said Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “Congress needs to be involved, but perhaps not initially.”
The U.S. can and should act to respond after reported widespread chemical attacks in Syria, using cruise missile strikes but not “boots on the ground” to destroy Bashar al Assad’s runways, munitions and fuel, Engel added. “I think we have to respond, and we have to respond in conjunction with our NATO allies. ... We cannot afford to sit back and wait.”
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s ranking member, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), agreed, adding that the amount of social media coming out of Syria indicates that the chemical attacks actually are happening, and weren’t just invented by the opposition to drum up sympathy.
“My sense is that this has happened, I think we will respond in a surgical way,” Corker said. “And I hope the president as soon as we get back to Washington will ask for authorization from Congress to do something in a very surgical and proportional way. Something that gets their attention, that causes them to understand that we are not going to put up with this kind of activity.”
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
Engel, Corker: U.S. action in Syria may not wait
POLITICO ^ | August 25, 2013 | LEIGH MUNSIL
President Barack Obama should not necessarily wait for Congress to return from recess before taking action in Syria, two lawmakers said on “Fox News Sunday.”
“We have to move, and we have to move quickly,” said Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “Congress needs to be involved, but perhaps not initially.”
The U.S. can and should act to respond after reported widespread chemical attacks in Syria, using cruise missile strikes but not “boots on the ground” to destroy Bashar al Assad's runways, munitions and fuel, Engel added. “I think we have to respond, and we have to respond in conjunction with our NATO allies. ... We cannot afford to sit back and wait.”
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's ranking member, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), agreed, adding that the amount of social media coming out of Syria indicates that the chemical attacks actually are happening, and weren't just invented by the opposition to drum up sympathy.
“My sense is that this has happened, I think we will respond in a surgical way,” Corker said. “And I hope the president as soon as we get back to Washington will ask for authorization from Congress to do something in a very surgical and proportional way. Something that gets their attention, that causes them to understand that we are not going to put up with this kind of activity.”
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3058597/posts
McCain and Graham: U.S. Must ‘Take Limited Military Actions in Syria’
The Weekly Standard ^ | Aug 25, 2013 | Daniel Halper
In a statement released this morning, Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham call for the U.S. to “take limited military actions in Syria.”
“Recent reports and information from Syria lend additional credibility to what has been clear since last week: Assad and his forces have once again used chemical weapons against civilians in Syria and are, in fact, escalating their use. Their recent massacre of hundreds of men, women, and children around Damascus clearly constitutes the commission of a war crime, and it is the responsibility of civilized nations everywhere to ensure that those responsible are held accountable,” the statement reads.
“Now is the time for decisive actions. The United States must rally our friends and allies to take limited military actions in Syria that can change the balance of power on the ground and create conditions for a negotiated end to the conflict and an end to Assad's rule. Using stand-off weapons, without boots on the ground, and at minimal risk to our men and women in uniform, we can significantly degrade Assad's air power and ballistic missile capabilities and help to establish and defend safe areas on the ground. In addition, we must begin a large-scale effort to train and equip moderate, vetted elements of the Syrian opposition with the game-changing weapons they need to shift the military balance against Assad's forces.
(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...