Tom Bossert Quotes

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.

What the United States needs to do at this point is reaffirm our commitment that Assad must go and that Iran and Russia cannot be granted a sphere of influence in Syria, and that we will not sit down at the negotiating table to help broker Assad's victory in this fight.

As was true in Iraq and Libya, the United States has no credible government or leader able to bring order, security, and freedom to the people of Syria if Assad is overthrown.

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.

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

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

The situation in Syria is quite different from Libya.

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

I just don't understand how Kerry or Obama or anybody else thought Assad was going to change.

Many governments are quick to condemn Assad, but a dwindling number of them would celebrate a rebel victory in Damascus.

Assad's regime helped ISIS grow by attacking other opposition forces and rarely targeting ISIS.

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.

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

Assad has to be removed, and then you have to actually put someone in that is a qualified leader that can start to build some trust in that area.

The regime of Bashar al-Assad will inevitably go down. And its collapse will be loud not only in Syria but across the Arab world.

Iran has basically propped up Assad, who has waged an absolute war of horror against the Syrian people. And he has done anything he could to stay in power with the full support of the Iranians and including Iranian troops and Hezbollah from Lebanon, which are an Iranian proxy.

To simply demand that Assad go, and create a vacuum, could make the circumstances worse. To 'protect' Assad and his brutality is unconscionable. So you have to have a transition period here.

A lot of the issue that is happening in Syria is Assad is still there. And after years now, the administration, of saying Assad has to go, the pressure is not being applied to Russia, to Iran - the folks that are propping up Assad - and Assad himself to be able to actually be removed there and to transition to another leader.

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

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 Syrian rebels, weakened by infighting, have also been victims of the growing rift between the U.S. and its closest Arab allies.

Here's the problem - under both Obama and Trump, American military forces and assistance have provided just enough support to anti-Assad forces to keep the resistance going, but never enough help to actually dislodge Assad from power.

I intend to vote against authorizing the president to use military force in Syria. The Obama Administration has not provided a clear or convincing strategy for inserting our military into the conflict. I am also deeply concerned about the extent to which al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists are involved in the rebellion.

There are now two Syrias. One is run by men who fight for God, not democracy. The other is ruled by a secular but authoritarian regime accused of many crimes against its people. The choice between the two will not be decided at the polls.

Bashar al-Assad needs to be replaced, but he can't be replaced with another Bashar al-Assad.