By John Dempsey, WLS-AM News
(CHICAGO) South Suburban Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger is calling for U.S. airstrikes against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, whom Kinzinger blames for chemical weapon attacks this week that killed at least 86 people, including 26 children.
Kinzinger told “The Big John and Ray Show” on WLS that there is no question Assad was involved, and he says the United States must make it clear to him that attacks like this will not be tolerated.
“So I think the first thing is you have to make clear to the regime that the cost of using chemical weapons to them far exceeds any benefit, and you do that by strikes against regime assets. When you stop, you say ‘Do it again and you’re gonna have more strikes.’ So every time you decide to use chemical weapons it’s going to cost you more so that goes into the calculus.”
Kinzinger emphasizes he is not calling for the U.S. to engage in another war.
“Nobody, including me has advocated for an Iraq-2 type invasion into Syria. In fact our allies have said ‘We don’t want American boots on the ground we need American leadership and probably technology and air-power and we’re willing to do the work on the ground,’ and I think we could organize that if we need to.”
Earlier this week Kinzinger told CNN “I’m ashamed of our government action so far — and inaction,” and said President Trump must speak out more strongly against the Assad regime.
@ 2017 WLS-AM News
