Tate Zeigler (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1417)

Washington – U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and John McCain (R-Arizona) today released the following statement on Syria:

“We are extremely disturbed by reports that chemical weapons have been used today in Syria. President Obama has said that the use of weapons of mass destruction by Bashar Assad is a ‘red line’ for him that ‘will have consequences.’ If today’s reports are substantiated, the President’s red line has been crossed, and we would urge him to take immediate action to impose the consequences he has promised. That should include the provision of arms to vetted Syrian opposition groups, targeted strikes against Assad’s aircraft and SCUD missile batteries on the ground, and the establishment of safe zones inside Syria to protect civilians and opposition groups. If today’s reports are substantiated, the tragic irony will be that these are the exact same actions that could have prevented the use of weapons of mass destruction in Syria.

“It is imperative that the Administration come up with a plan to secure the chemical weapons sites in a post-Assad Syria.  We cannot imagine a more volatile scenario for the Mideast and our own national security than to have these chemical weapons caches fall into radical Islamist hands.  We need to take this threat seriously and time is not on our side.”

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