In the Press...
Smith on Sunday News Program to Detail Plan for Syrian War Crimes TribunalSmith resolution an alternative to bombs & missiles
Cong. Chris Smith (NJ-04) on the set of Fox News Channel Sunday program, America's New Headquarters, with anchor Shannon Bream discussed his resolution to create a Syrian War Crimes Tribunal as an alternative to a military attack on Syria.
Smith, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee who has announced that he will vote against authorizing President Obama’s plans for military strikes in Syria, said that a Syrian War Crimes Tribunal is a nonlethal alternative to missiles and bombs that carry huge risks of killing or maiming innocent civilians and exacerbating the conflict—all while putting American servicemembers at risk. Click here or on image above to watch the news segment. Smith pointed out that previous specialized international courts in Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Yugoslavia have been successful in holding accountable those who perpetrate war crimes. At a Capitol Hill hearing last week, Smith questioned Secretary of State John Kerry about the Administration’s weak record on human rights, especially and including in Syria. Smith pointed to a September 3rd New York Times editorial that said it was “alarming” that President Obama did not “long ago put into place, with our allies and partners, a plan for international action.” In June Smith chaired a hearing on human rights abuses in Syria entitled “Religious Minorities in Syria: Caught in the Middle,” Click here to read the witnesses statements, or to watch the hearing. |