Political Quotes

“I thank the Chair. Let me outline some of what I set forth in the letter. First, I asked that the President seriously consider allowing the deployment of lethal assistance to the moderate military opposition. A serious effort to help narrow the gulf between the moderate opposition and the better-trained and better-equipped extremist fighters would not only boost morale in the Free Syrian Army but could actually change the momentum of the battle. Yesterday President Jarba expressed his commitment to continuing to fight extremist forces. He made that commitment to me, and I am sure he would reiterate it to others. There is no question that there are risks here, but the greater risk is allowing Syria to fall into the hands of extremists and to allow the regime to murder thousands more Syrians and prevail in this conflict. If the administration judges that it has the confidence in Mr. Jarba's pledges and that we have conducted sufficient vetting of key opposition commanders, it should either consider allowing our partners in the region to supply lethal aid or consider providing such weapons ourselves. I have not and will not advocate for American boots on the ground in this conflict, but giving moderate opposition forces the assistance they need to stem Assad's reign of terror and drive back foreign extremist fighters is in our national interest. Second, my letter urges President Obama to resume the push for a chapter 7 authorization in the United Nations.…”