Committee On Forei United States Senate

Syria Committee On Forei United States Senate

The Assad regime continues its brutal assault on the Syrian people, backed by Iran, Russia, and Hezbollah. Seven million Syrians, a third of the country's population, have fled their homes. More than 2 million refugees, half of them children, have fled to surrounding countries. The regional impact is enormous. In tiny Lebanon, the presence of 750,000 refugees is equivalent to some 58 million refugees entering the United States. Clearly, with 4,000 refugees fleeing Syria every day, for the sake of the region and the world we must find a resolution to this devastating humanitarian crisis. Furthermore, a failed Syrian state bordering Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, and our ally Israel becomes a haven and training ground for violent extremist groups in an already unstable region. The United States cannot, and should not, be the key that resolves every dispute in the region, but we have a very real strategic stake in the stability of the region and ensuring that Syria does not become a failed state.