On the recordSeptember 18, 2015
I didn't intend to speak today, but I just wanted to remind the American people, as I hear that the United States is about to enter talks with Russia over their presence in the Middle East, Russia is there for one reason. They are there to prop up a man named Bashar al-Assad, who has killed a quarter million of his own people. Many of those people that Bashar al-Assad has killed include women and children. These children may look different or speak a different language, in some cases, than in the United States, but these are children with the same dreams as many American children. They may want to grow up to be police officers or teachers or doctors or pharmacists or work on the family farm and raise a family. These are young lives that have been snuffed out by the barrel bombs of this evil dictator. As we wrestle with the failures in the Middle East and what to do with it, let me remind the American people that the choice is not between ISIS or Assad, but the choice is if you want to destroy ISIS, you must destroy Bashar al-Assad. ____________________
