[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 109 (Thursday, June 28, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H5968-H5970]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      ATROCITIES CONTINUE IN SYRIA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gianforte). Under the Speaker's 
announced policy of January 3, 2017, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Kinzinger) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority 
leader.
  Mr. KINZINGER. Mr. Speaker, there is really a tragic situation that 
has been unfolding for a long time in Syria, and I think it is 
important that we have a brief discussion today about what is at stake 
and what is happening.
  To start that discussion, Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield to the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), the honorable chairman of the 
House Foreign Affairs Committee, and a champion for the people of Free 
Syria.

                              {time}  1300

  Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate the time 
that has been set aside here, and I appreciate the gentleman yielding.
  I have got to say at the outset, one of the great tragedies of the 
half a million deaths in Syria is that I think it was quite avoidable.
  If we think back to 7 years ago and how it started, it began with 
people marching in the streets of Damascus saying, ``peaceful, 
peaceful.'' Their goal was to try to get some element of human rights 
in a country in which people were being abducted and disappeared in 
these chambers where they were tortured and killed.
  We know a lot more now than we did at the time because of a brave 
military photographer by the name of Caesar, and Caesar brought those 
pictures out to the West, 55,000 of them.
  The way in which the regime conducted itself drove the population in 
Syria to react. And now, after 7 years of war, brutal war, the 
atrocities continue in Syria; and in many ways, after listening this 
morning to Caesar and seeing his photographs again, they are worse than 
they were.
  I say that because, as we speak, despite a ceasefire agreed to by 
Russia, the Assad regime, backed by Russian war planes and backed by 
the Iranian militia from neighboring Iran on the ground, is engaged in 
a brutal assault on southern Syria. They are engaged there, and more 
than 45,000 civilians have fled as Russian and regime forces have 
intensified their shelling and their air raids again on civilian 
populations.
  So yesterday alone, three hospitals were bombed. The United Nations 
has said that more Syrians were displaced in the first few months of 
this year than at any period in the last 7 years of war--the first few 
months of this year. This is happening as we speak.
  This is one of the children affected by this brutal campaign. The 
numbers are staggering. As I shared with you, there are over half a 
million Syrians that have been killed. Think for a minute about the 
families of those who are on the move trying to escape. Fourteen 
million Syrians have been displaced; tens of thousands remain in the 
regime's dungeons.
  That, for me, is the most horrifying aspect of this. It is because 
the regime will not, despite international pressure, change what it 
does within those dungeons, the same torture that was exposed to the 
world in the Caesar photos, in the 55,000 photos.
  And the horrific part of this--I don't know why totalitarian regimes 
do this, but they have a habit of taking the picture of every tortured, 
mangled body that they have killed and then numbering it with a number, 
and then number after number after number. It is now a process of civil 
society in Syria trying to figure out and tie these families together.
  And the population that was massacred, whether it is Shia or Sunni or 
Alawites or Christian, it is as though the regime knows no bounds in 
terms of its suspicions. It is like Joe Stalin's rampage when he 
decided, in the 1930s, to begin his process of eliminating anyone who 
could potentially be an opponent: take them in and put them to the 
torture.
  That is what is happening as we speak. And if the regime retakes 
southern Syria, thousands more will be detained and meet the same fate 
as those who are in those torture chambers today.
  So this morning, we had the honor of welcoming Caesar. Adam Kinzinger 
and I and other members of our committee had the opportunity once more 
to speak to the Syrian military defector who took those photos.
  Four years ago, he met with our committee in his first public 
appearance following his defection. Those photos gave us an eyewitness 
account of the Assad regime's horrific brutality. And today, Caesar 
provided new, chilling testimony about the Assad regime's attacks 
against the Syrian people.
  Industrial-scale torture, as I have told you, is being committed 
against thousands of detainees. And I will tell you, one picture that 
especially moved me showed a young woman. She was an architect in the 
city. She had had her eyes gouged out. She was tortured to death and 
her crime was that she had delivered food and humanitarian aid to 
individuals targeted by the Assad regime.
  As you know, the Blue Helmets in Syria who run into collapsing 
buildings in order to pull out victims, pull out civilians, they are 
nondenominational. These are people who volunteer, and they are 
frequently targeted. It is often those who are doing the rescuing who 
are targeted by that regime.
  Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, there can be no real peace in 
Syria as long as the Assad regime, as long as Assad, himself, remains 
in power. We need a strategy that, in the name of humanity, moves 
beyond Assad to achieve a political solution that will secure a lasting 
peace among all of the parties there.
  The House has twice passed legislation named after Caesar, sponsored 
by Ranking Member Eliot Engel and me, to impose sanctions on supporters 
of Syria's Assad regime, including sanctions on Iran and Russia, 
because that is where the materiel comes from. That is where the bombs 
come from. This legislation will help cut off funding that fuels 
Assad's war machine, and it gives our diplomats much-needed leverage in 
the political process.
  Additionally, the Caesar bill will support the prosecution of the 
regime's war criminals. This includes U.S. assistance for cases being 
tried around the world, many based on evidence in the Caesar file, such 
as the one recently filed by prosecutors in Germany.
  Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, the Senate still has not acted on this 
critical legislation. It is time to sanction Assad. It is time to 
sanction his backers. It is time to hold war criminals accountable and 
give justice to victims.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues in the Senate to quickly move 
forward. Please move this legislation to help protect Syrian civilians.
  Again, I want to thank my colleague not only for his efforts and for 
his service to this country, including on the battlefield, but also for 
his service here today in the interest of humanity.

  Mr. KINZINGER. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman for his 
leadership on this issue and for his very eloquently delivered speech 
on the seriousness of what is happening.
  The Syrian civil war is now in its eighth year, and it is approaching 
a very serious crossroad. While the media focus fades away after some 
chemical attack or a picture that steals our hearts for a moment, the 
war crimes being committed and the atrocities taking place in Syria are 
happening in full force right this very minute.
  For the last 9 days, the southern border of Syria has been under 
constant bombardment from airstrikes and barrel bomb attacks. Despite a 
ceasefire

[[Page H5969]]

pact from Russia in July of 2017, we know Syria's main military ally 
has continued to carry out attacks on behalf of the Assad regime.
  This critical moment will affect the future of Syria, the security 
interests of the United States, and stability within the international 
community. So what are we going to do about it?
  Since World War I, we have held that chemical weapons have no place 
on the battlefield. We have held strong to this principle and its core 
to the values of our country.
  We know that the President of Syria, the brutal dictator, Bashar al-
Assad, and his ruthless regime have committed countless war crimes, and 
they are responsible for murdering more than half a million Syrians.
  We know Assad has used chemical weapons countless times to attack and 
murder innocent civilians.
  We know that Russian and Iranian regimes have supported and helped 
Assad in his genocide on the Syrian people, including airstrikes and 
attacks that account for more than 50,000 dead Syrian children.
  We have seen the Assad regime, along with his Iranian and Russian 
backers, starve the people in cities like Madaya, Aleppo, and eastern 
Ghouta by using food as a weapon.
  We know the Assad regime has often refused U.N. and other 
humanitarian organizations from delivering critical humanitarian 
assistance to the most ravaged cities in Syria.
  Because we know this, we cannot turn a blind eye. We cannot just 
sweep this under the rug and ignore the horrific reality in Syria right 
now. We cannot isolate ourselves from this crisis.
  What happens in Syria and what happens in the Middle East has a very 
real impact on our national security and the security of future 
generations. If we fail to act in Syria and fail to inflict punishment 
over the use of chemical weapons, we will ultimately see the end of the 
nonproliferation treaty of chemical weapons and open the world to 
ghastly horrors, perpetual insecurity, and extreme danger.
  I support the President's enforcement of those red lines, but we must 
not be naive enough to think that, if we show weakness elsewhere, it 
will not happen again.
  To be clear, I am not suggesting that the United States invade Syria, 
put 100,000 troops in, and start a regional war, not in the slightest. 
What I am suggesting is that we take a stand for what is right, what is 
just, and what is in the best interests of the United States and the 
freedom-loving people around the world.
  We need a long-term strategy in Syria that leads to a solution of 
peace and an end to the ongoing, deadly, and horrific conflict. This 
strategy should also include the end of the Assad regime and a place at 
the table for all people at the table of government.
  First, we must maintain a presence in Syria and we must uphold the 
deescalation zones that have already been established. By bolstering 
these areas and making it known that the United States remains in the 
region, we can thwart the strongmen of Russia and Iran from pushing 
into these areas and targeting civilians.
  Internally, both Russia and Iran are fractured and tired. They both 
view Syria as a power-grab opportunity to take on their enemies: the 
United States and Israel. It comes as no surprise, as we know the true 
intentions of these bad actors anyway.
  That being said, we cannot allow Iran to complete its land bridge 
through the middle of Syria, and we cannot trust the Russians ever on 
anything. Russian strikes have obliterated residential areas in Syria, 
displacing thousands. The area's major hospitals and makeshift 
hospitals have been targeted and destroyed.
  Let me say that again. The region's hospitals have been targeted and 
destroyed. We must take measures to punish Russia and Iran for their 
crimes.
  Next, given the dire situation in places like Daraa, we need to 
establish no-fly zones and maintain a presence to ensure they are being 
enforced by us and our allies. This is vital for the safety of our 
coalition units, the humanitarian aid volunteers, and the Syrian 
civilians who have been forced to flee their homes and their 
communities.
  We need to hold Assad, his regime, and the Russian and Iranian 
supporters accountable.
  In April, I spoke on the House floor in support of a bill I 
introduced with my House Foreign Affairs Committee colleagues, H.R. 
4681, the No Assistance for Assad Act. This bill, which passed the 
House and now sits in the Senate, is a step in the right direction in 
taking actions in Syria and punishing the Assad regime for its horrific 
war crimes.
  H.R. 4681 needs to be implemented, as do the sanctions passed last 
year against the supporters of the Assad regime for their role in the 
genocide of Syrian civilians.
  Most importantly, the United States needs to remind the people of 
Syria that we stand with them. We stand for freedom, and we stand 
against the inhumane crimes committed against them by this barbaric 
regime and their Russian and Iranian backers.
  If you are a 10-year-old kid in Syria and your dad was killed by an 
airstrike, you might see ISIS as the only opponent to Bashar al-Assad, 
the butcher of Damascus who brutalized your family, who destroyed your 
home, who bombed your school, and who left you without an education or 
opportunity. If you are this 10-year-old kid in Syria right now, you 
are likely to be a rich target of ISIS recruitment. Sadly, the next 
generation of terrorism will likely stem from these regions that have 
no hope or opportunity, that feel completely abandoned and ignored by 
the international community.
  I spoke to a Syrian regime defector yesterday named Caesar. Caesar 
defected from the Assad regime and brought with him thousands of 
pictures and documents proving that the regime tortures, starves, and 
kills innocent people every day. And, if that isn't enough, they 
document these atrocities with cold precision, reminiscent of the 
actions of Nazi Germany. It is chilling.

                              {time}  1315

  Caesar risks his life by sharing his experiences. In our meetings, he 
selflessly focuses on others. He emphasized how gravely the people of 
Syria are suffering every single day. And every single day, the people 
of Syria cling to the hope that America will speak up and stand with 
them.
  I pray for peace, and I urge the administration to position the 
United States as the global leader this world needs right now.
  I also implore the Senate to pass the Caesar Act, sanctioning regime 
officials involved in the torture and opening the path to their capture 
and trial as war criminals. They must be held accountable.
  We have passed this bill repeatedly, and we will do so again if we 
must. But the Senate has an opportunity to make this law and stand with 
the values that we hold dear.
  Mr. Speaker, the people of Syria need to know that there is hope. 
Right now, our lack of a strategy in Syria is leaving many with little 
hope or faith in the United States or our allies.
  I believe America has a mission in the world, and it is to be an 
example of self-governance in a world drowning in strongmen, cruelty, 
and chaos. I believe we have an opportunity to show the people of 
Syria, and the world, that the American Dream continues. We are still 
that shining city on a hill and a beacon of hope for peace and 
prosperity.
  When that light dims, it doesn't give America an opportunity to look 
within and relax, regain ourselves, and look coldly and detached at the 
rest of the world. History has shown again and again that a dimming 
light in American leadership only guarantees a future fight, a future 
calling up of a generation of Americans to, once again, defeat an 
enemy.
  But if we remember this God-given mission and the light on the hill 
continues to beam bright, then we can create a generation within the 
camps of our enemies who rejects their ideology and implements change 
from within. Behind the Iron Curtain, it wasn't America's military 
action that sliced it in half. It was people behind it seeing our 
light, peering over that wall, and tearing it down so they, too, could 
enjoy those freedoms.
  As a great President, John F. Kennedy, said: ``Let every nation know, 
whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any 
burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure 
the survival and the success of liberty.''

[[Page H5970]]

  Bashar al-Assad will ultimately pay an awful, eternal price when he 
meets his Maker. Let's move that appointment up so that justice here or 
in the afterlife is swift and soon. Let's shine our light on the 
actions of Iran and Russia. Let's expose with that brightness the 
torture and the bombing of aid convoys and hospitals. Let's shine that 
light on the plight of people simply trying to live their lives and to 
raise their children to be police officers, doctors, farmers, factory 
workers, and mothers and fathers.
  Let's speak out for the freedom-loving people who so desperately need 
our voice. Let's shine our light on the oppressive darkness around the 
world.
  Mr. Speaker, let's save Syria.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________