{"id":26884,"date":"2013-09-09T09:44:21","date_gmt":"2013-09-09T14:44:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=26884"},"modified":"2013-09-09T09:44:40","modified_gmt":"2013-09-09T14:44:40","slug":"sen-heitkamp-statement-syria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=26884","title":{"rendered":"Sen. Heitkamp Statement – Syria"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"heitkamp2\"<\/a>BISMARCK, ND KCSi-T.V. News Sept 9, 2013)\u00a0 <\/b>\u00a0\u2013 U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today issued the following statement on the President\u2019s request for Congressional authorization to use military force in Syria over its use of chemical weapons.\u00a0 Heitkamp also explained her draft alternative proposal to address the Assad regime\u2019s use of chemical weapons.<\/p>\n

Over the past week, Heitkamp has participated in a classified hearing with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee where she heard from Secretary of State John Kerry and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and a briefing at the White House with Vice President Biden.\u00a0 And she has spoken with foreign policy experts about this issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBy using chemical weapons against its own people, the Assad regime committed a heinous crime against humanity that cannot be ignored. \u00a0Any use of chemical weapons is a terrifying international problem that demands an international solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the past week, I have participated in many confidential briefings and I\u2019ve been scrutinizing whether the potential use of limited force in Syria is in the best strategic interest of the United States.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI still believe we need to have an open and honest discussion on the Senate floor about the potential use of force in Syria.\u00a0 However, after all these meetings, I still have serious concerns. \u00a0I cannot support the current Senate resolution to authorize force at this time.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter doing my due diligence, I believe we need an alternative path forward in dealing with the Assad regime.\u00a0 We must balance the legitimate concerns that Americans have about the use of military force with our strategic interests. \u00a0At its core, I believe the current Senate resolution falls short because it calls for military action in Syria without carefully looking at diplomatic or alternative solutions. \u00a0I strongly believe that we need the entire world, not just America, to prevent and deter the use of chemical weapons in Syria, or anywhere else on the globe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am currently working with Senator Joe Manchin and my other colleagues on an alternative approach that I believe provides a better path forward.\u00a0 The proposal would give the Assad government 45 days to sign an international chemical weapons ban and begin the process of turning over its chemical weapons.\u00a0 During this time, the U.S. would work to build international support and create a global response on the use of chemical weapons in Syria. \u00a0If, after 45 days, the Assad regime mistakes our deliberate and careful democratic process for lack of will and immunity, it does so at its own peril.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reported previously…<\/p>\n

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP Sept 6, 2013) \u2013 U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp and a colleague are proposing a diplomatic alternative to military action for the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
\n\u00a0
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The North Dakota Democrat tells The Associated Press that the proposal gives the government of President Bashar Assad 45 days to sign the international ban on chemical weapons.
\n\u00a0
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Heitkamp says she\u2019s troubled that other such options haven\u2019t been explored.
\n\u00a0
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She says the international community banned the stockpiling and use of chemical weapons after World War I and Assad should abide by it.
\n\u00a0
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Heitkamp says that timeframe would give other countries, such as Russia and Iran, a chance to weigh in on the debate.
\n\u00a0
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If Assad refuses to sign the ban and abide by the terms, the proposal in its draft form allows for the use of power.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BISMARCK, ND KCSi-T.V. News Sept 9, 2013)\u00a0 \u00a0\u2013 U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today issued the following statement on the President\u2019s request for Congressional authorization to use military force in Syria over its use of chemical weapons.\u00a0 Heitkamp also explained her draft alternative proposal to address the Assad regime\u2019s use of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3039,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26884"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26886,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26884\/revisions\/26886"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}