Heinrich Statement On Chemical Attack In Syria

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on the chemical attack in Syria:

"When any country chooses to ignore the international norms against the use of chemical weapons, they have made a deeply immoral decision with worldwide implications – implications that the United States cannot ignore.

"Assad is a brutal dictator employing more and more barbaric tactics in order to cling to power and has shown a willingness to reduce residential neighborhoods to rubble, to imprison and torture children, and who has watched callously as his actions have killed over a hundred thousand civilians and displaced millions of Syrian refugees.

"The United States has a moral obligation to deter Assad and every regime watching him from thinking that they can gas their people with impunity, commit genocide, or employ internationally prohibited weapons. Any military action should be limited in scope with clear objectives, because we cannot become entangled in another civil war in the Middle East.

“Unfortunately, the Trump Administration has been noticeably absent in negotiations for a diplomatic settlement in Syria. We must reassert active diplomatic engagement to help solve this complex crisis, and it is critical that we stop ceding leadership on the international stage to our adversaries and bring an end to this humanitarian disaster.”