[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 13267]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                 SYRIA

  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I know that--and what we have heard this 
morning--what is rightfully at the forefront of all of our minds this 
week is the debate about whether to authorize the use of force in 
Syria. This is a very serious matter, as we all know. It raises a 
number of geopolitical and national security issues.
  The decision to undertake military action is not one to be taken 
lightly. I am very aware that people are war-weary, that they are 
concerned about the consequences of the use of military force. 
Consequently, I believe we should pursue every possible diplomatic 
solution prior to engaging in military action.
  I welcome the possibility of international cooperation to secure and 
destroy Syria's chemical weapons stockpile. I hope that Russia is being 
serious and that they will take real, legitimate actions to quickly 
follow through on what they have raised with their effort to try to 
encourage Asad to give up his chemical weapons to international 
control. I am working with some of my colleagues on the Senate Foreign 
Relations Committee on an amendment to the resolution that would 
incorporate this new development and pressure the Syrians to ensure 
that we see credible concrete steps in any possible effort to place 
their chemical weapons under international inspection. I look forward 
to hearing from the President today and this evening, and I look 
forward to the debate later this week as we consider the situation in 
Syria.

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