On the recordFebruary 24, 2015
Mr. President, before I close, I would like to take a minute to talk about the President's foreign policy. The Congress has received the President's request for authorization for the use of military force in Iraq and Syria, and we will take a hard look at this request. But we still haven't seen a comprehensive strategy from the President for confronting and defeating ISIS. ISIS represents a barely comprehensible level of evil. Wherever its members go they leave a trail of blood. Their reign of terror in the Middle East has included the systematic persecution and murder of Christians and other minorities, rape, torture, burnings, beheadings, as well as reports of the crucifixion and burying alive of children. Just 2 weeks ago ISIS beheaded 21 Coptic Christians in Libya. The men's only crime was professing their faith. This morning's news included reports of another 90 Assyrian Christians being abducted by ISIS from a village in northern Syria. My heart sinks each time I hear any report of abductions of this nature because we know the fate that is likely in store for these people. Evil like this cannot be ignored. It must be confronted. The United States should be a leader in the effort to defeat this hellish organization and its reign of brutality. The President should have articulated a plan for responding to ISIS months ago, but, unfortunately, his lack of decision is par for the course when it comes to this administration's foreign policy.…





