[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 60 (Thursday, April 6, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H2768]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   ATROCIOUS CHEMICAL WEAPONS ATTACK

  (Mr. PANETTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Speaker, in the early morning hours on a day earlier 
this week, a small town in northwest Syria was atrociously attacked 
with chemical bombs. As a result, over 75 civilians died and over 20 
children gasped for air, writhed in pain, and foamed at the mouth. They 
suffered dilated pupils, muscle spasms, and involuntary defecation.
  Based on the state of this evidence, it appears that it was the 
Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, who committed this heinous act 
against his people once again. The last time Assad committed such an 
act, in 2013, he agreed to eliminate his chemical weapons. However, it 
appears he lied, and he continues his sick aggression against his own 
people and our humanity.
  From the first use of chemical weapons in World War I to the Iran-
Iraq war in the 1980s and now in Syria, chemical weapons epitomize the 
absolute horror of modern-day warfare. That is, of course, why they are 
outlawed and why their use is a war crime. That is also why anybody who 
uses them must be treated and penalized like a war criminal.

                          ____________________