Chris Smith

On that point, if I could ask you----

The threat to Christians and other minorities in this region was not ultimately caused by U.S. military action of the struggle for democracy. The root cause is Islamic terrorism of the kind that hit us on 9/11.

I think that USAID is trying to respond as effectively as possible, and so, again, I want to give you high marks.

While no administration has been successful in promoting religious freedom, the issue has been an especially low priority under the current President.

Those who have been driven from their homes by ISIS should be able to return to their homes in safety and security with a say and a stake in the Government of Iraq.

We have to insist the governments in the region govern for all their people.

ISIL is unique, not because it uses bombings, assassinations, beheadings, which are sadly commonplace among terrorist groups, but because it targets entire groups of people simply because of who they are.

We are especially anguished by the plight of thousands of women who have been kidnapped by ISIL from a variety of groups and held as spoils of war or sold in markets as sex slaves.

We could only calm down after hearing U.S. jets above us. We felt 'There is still someone there to save us.'

Messages relayed from that mountain by cell phones with dying batteries, messages that told us exactly, with GPS coordinates, where the survivors were hiding.

Now, in early August, we faced a particularly dramatic moment.

As you know very well, Christians in Iraq and other minorities have been under severe stress well before the horrors of this summer.

The barbaric actions of the Islamic State have brought the persecution of Christians more immediately in front of the American people.

ISIL has to be pushed back. Communities have to be protected, and the interests not only of the United States but of its regional allies must be also protected.

But where has that leadership been in Syria and Iraq? Why have we allowed the Christians to be persecuted and murdered to the brink of extinction without taking action?

This is not a political issue, Mr. Chairman, this is about right and wrong, about a belief in our ideals and our morals that everyone everywhere, that is about justice, that is about freedom of religion, everyone should be able to live…

Where the black flag flies, there is only death and misery. We have to do everything humanly possible to stop this cancer from spreading.

I believe with a herculean effort pushed by the United States and other interested nations, past success in creating war crime courts can indeed be prologue.

H. Con. Res. 51, introduced on September 9th, calls for the creation of an international tribunal that would be more flexible and more efficient than the International Criminal Court to ensure accountability for human rights violations…

So it is a very large resource. So our estimate is it is something over three billion barrels of crude resources.

Documenting the birth of baby girls is extremely important, having accountability.

Khamenei has also characterized the requirement that, as part of a final agreement, Iran end its ballistic missile program as 'stupid, idiotic expectation' on our part.

What happens at midnight, November 25th, if there is no agreement?

People with autism deserve more than 4 minutes of the game.

Mr. Smith. Did we respond to it in an affirmative way?