Factchecks
The Truth About Hillary Clinton’s Record In Syria
Clinton Has Consistently Favored An Assertive Approach In Syria
As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton took a forceful position toward Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s ruthless regime. And she has consistently looked for ways to aid the Syrian people, who have been subject for too long to Assad’s callous rule. Take a look at her record:
- In 2012, before the rise of ISIS further complicated the situation in Syria, Clinton strongly urged President Obama to arm moderate rebels in support of the eventual removal of the brutal Assad regime.
- As Secretary of State, Clinton lambasted China, Russia and Iran for backing Assad, despite his nefarious behavior, purely because “he does their bidding.”
- After Assad used chemical weapons on his own people, Clinton publicly backed Obama’s call for targeted airstrikes as he sought Congressional approval.
- Hillary Clinton has called for the United States to show leadership by doing our part in taking in vetting and accepting Syrian refugees.
- Clinton has laid out a comprehensive plan for destroying ISIS in Syria and beyond. Among other things, in laying out her plan, Clinton called for:
o Working with our coalition partners to conduct more intense and effective air strikes; to ramp up intelligence efforts; to provide additional support to Kurdish and Sunni rebel forces on the ground; to create sustained pressure on the Iraqi government to get its own house in order.
o Instituting coalition no-fly zones in the air coupled with safe zones on the ground for the Syrian people, stems the refugee flow, and creates leverage and momentum for a diplomatic solution that removes Assad and brings Syria’s communities together to fight ISIS.
o Pressing Congress to pass a new AUMF that makes our commitment to winning this fight clear.
o Making sure that the Saudis, Qataris, other Arab partners, and the Turks understand they have to do their part, and Russia and Iran recognize that propping up a brutal dictator with no legitimacy will never bring stability.
o And she made absolutely clear that she would not send American combat troops back into another costly ground war in the Middle East.