On the recordFebruary 4, 2016
What leverage do we have over Assad? Mr. McCAIN. That is the point. There is no leverage, I say to my colleague. Meanwhile, while the Secretary of State is pressuring the Free Syria forces and threatening to cut off assistance to them, Russia is escalating their bombing campaign and continues the slaughter of innocent people. Meanwhile, there are also enclaves around Aleppo and other places where people are literally starving to death--literally starving to death. There are pictures, my friends, on the Internet, if you would like to see it. What does our Secretary of State do? He calls Lavrov. He calls Lavrov and complains. Lavrov, of course--it would be very interesting to know what is going through Mr. Lavrov's mind--but it is very clear that the Secretary of State is a supplicant, and this incredibly weak economy, with a brutal dictator in charge, is now achieving goals that have been age-old ambitions of the Russians. They are now playing a major role in the Middle East.
