Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. KINZINGER of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5732, the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2016.

In September, a trending comment on Twitter read: This is not Pompeii, this is Aleppo. Think about that for a minute. The death and destruction in Aleppo has reached such epic proportions that we are comparing it to one of the most deadly natural disasters in world history.

The President and his administration have continued to highlight the horrors of Syria exhibited by Assad and Putin by using terms like ``barbarism'', ``beyond the pale'', and ``haunting''. I think the more apt term for this is ``a problem from hell.''

Yet, even as the President, Secretary of State, and Ambassador to the UN continue to talk about the carnage in Syria, there has been very little action to end the suffering of the people of Aleppo and across Syria.
Mr. Speaker, it pains me every single time I come to the well of the House to talk about the atrocities in Syria. But we are failing the innocent people of Syria through our inaction.

Rather than enforcing red lines for Assad's use of chemical weapons or enhancing sanctions against the Russians for their war crimes in the bombing of medical facilities and aid convoys, the President and Secretary of State focus their attention on sham ceasefires that are continually violated by the people with which we negotiate.

They constantly worry about the Iranians walking away from flawed nuclear deals instead of leading the global community to end the atrocities in Syria.

I have said it before, and I will say it again: Russia and Iran are not our allies. Their interests lie in destabilizing Europe and turning the Middle East into a wasteland of murder and chaos.

Mr. Speaker, there needs to be a true cost for the complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity. It's time that Russia, Iran, and Syria are held accountable.

That is why this bill is so important. It would increase sanctions on the Assad regime and its supporters for the continued atrocities committed against the Syrian people. It requires this administration and any future administration to stand up and impose costs on the Russians, Syrians, and Iranians for the barrel bombing and gassing of innocent civilians.

I want to thank my colleagues, Congressman Engel and Congressman Royce for introducing this critical bill.
We owe it to the innocent people of Syria to bring justice against the Assad regime, Russian military, and their allies and help the struggling people of Syria.

If we fail to act, fail to lead--this Syrian Civil War will be the greatest humanitarian crisis of the 21st century.

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