[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 8685-8686]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                 SYRIA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from West 
Virginia (Mr. Mooney) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia. Mr. Speaker, on May 1 of last year, I 
came to this floor to speak on behalf of the Syrian people. I called 
for stronger leadership from our Commander in Chief, President Barack 
Obama, in the Syrian conflict. Specifically, I urged

[[Page 8686]]

the President to establish no-fly zones to protect innocent lives. At 
that time, 200,000 Syrians had already died.
  The administration has failed to act, and, today, Syria remains in 
crisis. The number of Syrians killed through the civil war has now 
doubled to 400,000. Many of these casualties are civilians: women, 
children, doctors, and teachers. So, Mr. Speaker, I come to this floor 
again to say that this slaughter of innocent human life must end, and 
it will not end unless the United States takes the lead fearlessly and 
immediately.
  I meet regularly with Syrian Americans who live in my congressional 
district in Charleston, West Virginia. They have told me the stories of 
their friends and families in the city of Aleppo, which is a financial 
and cultural center in Syria. Aleppo is now on fire and under siege. 
Just last week, a civilian bus was the victim of an airstrike where 10 
were killed, including three women and two children.
  Sadly, this type of violence is a daily occurrence in Aleppo and 
elsewhere in Syria. Hospitals, markets, schools, bus stations, 
warehouses: none of these places are off limits for bombings and 
destruction. If America does not take immediate actions to end the 
current humanitarian crisis, thousands more will die, and we will look 
back on this period of history knowing that America failed both the 
Syrian people and the cause of freedom.
  We must move quickly to protect the innocent civilians who are under 
attack. This means America must use its influence to stop the current 
flurry of airstrikes on civilian areas, and Russia must be part of this 
solution. If America fails to lead in negotiating a cease-fire 
immediately, the catastrophic losses of life will continue.
  We must accomplish a longer term cessation of hostilities, and we 
must allow the Syrian people free movement so that the innocent are 
able to escape harm's way. A no-fly zone must be established so that 
Syria is able to heal into a place that promotes justice and freedom 
for all citizens.
  Does this photo of Syria look familiar? You may remember seeing 
similar destruction in Bosnia almost 20 years ago. This is Bosnia. The 
war in Bosnia in the mid-1990s provides a thought-provoking blueprint 
as we search for solutions in Syria. With the disintegration of 
Yugoslavia in 1992, the region devolved into an ethnic civil war--first 
in Croatia, then in Bosnia. Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic began 
instituting a policy of ethnic cleansing by which whole populations 
were forced from their homes and were killed.
  For 4 years, the United States remained passive in the conflict, but 
in the summer of 1995, under President Bill Clinton, America took 
decisive military action with a series of airstrikes that brought 
Milosevic to the bargaining table, that forced peace, and that, 
ultimately, removed Milosevic from power. Today, Bosnia and Croatia are 
flourishing countries and are top destinations for many international 
tourists. Here is Bosnia today.
  We must apply these lessons of the war in Bosnia to the current 
conflict in Syria. The United States must take decisive leadership in 
returning long-term stability to Syria. Unless America and our allies 
are willing to use force, Russian and Syrian leaders will not respect 
us or have reason to negotiate peace.
  To enable the citizens of Syria to live free from fear and to thrive, 
we must do at least three things: establish safe zones along Syria's 
border with Turkey; ramp up our efforts to train Syrian opposition 
forces who have proven they are not extremists; and help Syria 
institute a new coalition government. Peace in Syria is impossible 
while Assad remains in control. He has proven this point time and again 
by his reckless and evil use of chemical weapons and other cruel tools 
of war on his own people.
  America cannot address the humanitarian crisis and restore long-term 
stability to Syria on our own. We must engage with our partners around 
the world who share a mutual interest in the cause of freedom. But, no 
matter what, President Barack Obama must act now, or even more lives 
could be lost. I encourage my colleagues in this chamber to join me in 
this call to action.

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