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Menendez: We Need to 'Tip the Scales' in Syria

'Not simply to nudge them'

Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Robert Menendez (D., N.J.) said the United States needs to "tip the scales" in favor of the Syrian rebels Sunday on CNN:

CANDY CROWLEY: [...] Senator Menendez, tell me, do you think this is too little? Do the rebels need more?

SENATOR BOB MENENDEZ: Well, Candy, as the Foreign Relations Committee voted nearly a month ago on a strong bipartisan vote of 15-3, we believe the rebels need to be armed. The moderate elements of those rebels. Two years later, we've come to know who they are. Public intelligence sources have said we've come to know who, in fact, we could ultimately arm, and the reality is we need to tip the scales, not simply to nudge them. And the president's moving in the right direction, and to a large degree, this is about whether or not we exert American leadership with our allies abroad, both in the gulf region and in Europe, a lot of what we want to see done can be done through our allies if we direct them and tell them this is where we want to head. If Assad continues to have unlimited air power and artillery, that's a hard battle to win you know against simple arms.

Full interview:

Published under: Bob Menendez , Syria , Video