Rand Paul Quotes

Assad has to go. I mean, the way that ISIS can recruit, and the rebels that are in the north, and all the chaos that's happening through a lot of Syria circles around a lot of people that do not like Assad.

There are still plenty of fighting forces inside of Syria who want to see Assad go. We should have been helping them from the very beginning.

It's difficult to see how Syria can have any long-term future with Assad there as president. Many people would never return to that country if that were the case.

I've been calling for the support of the Syrian rebels for years.

We don't see a peaceful Syria with Assad in there.

Putin is backing Assad - a person that's truly an evil person. And I think it's very bad for Russia. I think it's very bad for mankind. It's very bad for this world. And I really think that there's going to be a lot of pressure on Russia to make sure that peace happens, because, frankly, if Russia didn't go in and back this animal, you wouldn't have a problem right now. He was going to be overthrown.

A majority of the Syrian people believe in the regime and support Bashar al-Assad.

He’s [Bashar al-Assad, Syrian President] a different kind of bloodthirsty dictator, the kind who shops on line on his iPad. He’s sort of Arab Dictator 2.0

Bashar Assad's power over the areas of Syria under government control is slipping. Armed militias are growing stronger and the country's dictator can do nothing to stop them. Now, these fighters are taking over control in many areas, committing murder, looting and harassing civilians. And nobody can stop them, not even Assad himself. Indeed, the militias are now more powerful than even the country's dictator and have become the real holders of power in Syria.

To destroy the Islamic State, you have to fix Syria. You have to look at the reasons that created the Islamic State. This is a huge task.

The central problem in Syria is that Sunni Arabs will not be willing partners against the Islamic State unless we commit to protect them and the broader Syrian population against all enemies, not just ISIS.

In August 2012, the international community should have been far more determined in dealing with the Bashar Assad regime.

I thought the best way to topple Assad was not through airstrikes, but through equipping the moderate rebel elements.

If Assad continues to conduct strikes against the Free Syrian Army at will, it would be very difficult for them to have any success against ISIS.

The U.S. would still like to see Assad go at some point. That would be our desired outcome.

Hillary Clinton called President Assad a "reformer". She called Assad a "different kind of leader". There's now 400,000 now dead... think about that.

I think those who have wanted regime [of Bashar Assad] change have made a mistake.

Saddam Hussein was a horrible man, and I am pleased he is no longer running Iraq. But the war was wrong.

The situation in Syria is quite different from Libya.

The fall of the Syrian regime is in the interest of America and Israel.

Unless there is meaningful change in Syria and an end to the crackdown, President Assad and those around him will find themselves isolated internationally and discredited within Syria.

Syria cannot continue this way—killing their people

Syria: It’s a messy civil war and we should not be involved in it.

The United States should propose partition in Syria. Assad can keep what he controls, and the rebels can form local governments and establish a new entity.

As the crisis in Syria grows and the humanitarian tragedy becomes more clear, I appreciated Prime Minister Netanyahu's perspective on the changes and volatility in the region.