Politics & Government

Rep. Miller Urges U.S. to Take 'Diplomatic Path' Regarding Syria

Republican Congresswoman Candice Miller's district encompasses Macomb County communities.

U.S. Representative Candice Miller urged diplomatic action in a Tuesday statement to resolve the issue of chemical weapons in Syria: 

“The use of chemical weapons in Syria was terrible and a crime against humanity.  Since the start of the debate on this issue, I have strongly believed that this problem could not be settled with an act of war and could only be settled through diplomacy.  Yesterday, a diplomatic track to resolve the issue of chemical weapons in Syria was opened by both the Russian Foreign Minister and the Secretary General of the United Nations.  I believe it must be strongly embraced by the United States and our allies.

“I have been opposed to a military solution because an attack on Syria would not accomplish the goal of removing the chemical weapons from the battlefield; in fact, the Administration has already stated that the Syrian chemical weapons would not be a target of any attack.  The diplomatic path is the only way to make certain that Syria’s chemical weapons are taken out of the hands of the Assad regime and potentially out of the hands of Hezbollah and al Qaeda if the regime were to collapse.  We must take the diplomatic path and in doing so our focus must be first, foremost and perhaps solely on getting those chemical weapons off the battlefield and destroyed.

“We must not let any diplomatic wrangling which moves the goal posts from that objective get in the way to coming to an agreement, and all sides should be held to that same standard.  Also I believe that reaching a diplomatic agreement on removing chemical weapons could also provide the impetus to finding a diplomatic path to end the horrors of the Syrian Civil War.”


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