John Kerry

Such heinous and immoral violations of decency demand a clear and unambiguous response.

The chemical weapons attack against innocent civilians in Syria is an indirect attack on America's security, with broader implications for the region and the world.

In my view, there is a preponderance of evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that Assad's forces willfully targeted civilians with chemical weapons.

Are we willing to watch a slaughter just because the patrons of that slaughter are willing to use their veto at the United Nations to allow it to happen so their beneficiary can stay in power?

The question is, will we send a message that the United States will not tolerate the use of chemical weapons anywhere in the world, by anyone, for any reason?

What we do in the face of the chemical attack by the Assad regime against innocent civilians will send a signal to the world that such weapons in violation of international law cannot be used with impunity.

Forcing Assad to change his calculation about his ability to act with impunity can contribute to his realization that he cannot gas or shoot his way out of his predicament.

The decision rests with us. It is not political. It is a policy decision that must be based, I believe, on what we believe is in the national security interests of the United States.

It is our responsibility to evaluate the facts, assess the intelligence we have, and then debate the wisdom and scope of a military response fully and publicly, understanding its geopolitical ramifications and fully aware of the…

It is clear that in addition to what I have just mentioned about the Syria Accountability Act and the threat to the Middle East, we cannot overlook the impact of chemical weapons and the danger that they pose to a particularly volatile…

In the nearly 100 years since the first global commitment against chemical weapons, only two tyrants dared to cross the world's brightest line. Now Bashar al-Assad has become the third.

The world wonders whether the United States of America will consent through silence to standing aside while this kind of brutality is allowed to happen without consequence.

You, the United States Congress, passed the Syria Accountability Act, which says Syria's chemical weapons threaten the security of the Middle East and the national security interests of the United States.

We can tell you beyond any reasonable doubt that our evidence proves the Assad regime prepared for this attack.

I repeat here again today that only the most willful desire to avoid reality can assert that this did not occur as described, or that the regime did not do it.

It is important for people who may not have caught every component of the news over the course of the Labor Day weekend to join us, all of us, in focusing in on what is at stake here.

The world is watching not just to see what we decide, but it is watching to see how we make this decision

It is to some degree humiliating to be in a refugee camp when our policy has been that we are going to train, we are going to equip, we are going to give humanitarian aid to the vetted opposition.

I am still totally dismayed by the lack of support we are giving to the vetted moderate opposition.

I am very generally inclined to do so and am working closely with Senator Menendez for something that will be a starting point for this committee's discussions.

I trust that we can achieve that in a bipartisan way.

This is not a declaration of war, but a declaration of our values to the world.

I applaud this administration and our President for coming to Congress.

And now today you'd hear Senator -- Secretary Kerry and the others on the panel talk about degrading the Assad's regime capability to deliver these weapons and the likelihood that that will shift the momentum on the ground in favor of the…

To your point about Senator Kerry, he was trying to be, quote-unquote, responsible, saying if Syria imploded we might have to put boots on the ground to protect the chemical weapons, to keep them away from the bad guys.