House panel calls for US to stop recognizing Assad government in Syria
The House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday approved two non-binding resolutions calling on the Obama administration to stop recognizing Bashar al-Assad as president of Syria and to push for the creation of a Syria war crimes tribunal.
A key House panel passed two non-binding resolutions on Wednesday urging the Obama administration to turn the screws on Bashar al-Assad in the latest bipartisan push for more action in Syria.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee by voice vote adopted a resolution from panel chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., and ranking member Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., urging the United States and the United Nations to stop recognizing Assad's regime as the "rightful" government of Syria and "redirect" humanitarian assistance to private aid organizations.
That last provision was not in the resolution when it was first introduced last month. The new language comes as three dozen top lawyers and law professors from around the world signed onto a letter this week urging the UN to end its "overly cautious interpretation of international humanitarian law" and start cross-border aid deliveries.
Doing so isn't without risks, however.
