Joe Wilson Asks State Officials: What Should U.S. Policy Be ‘To Assist The People Of Syria’?

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During Wednesday’s House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-NC) questioned State Department Officials about assisting the people of Syria following the fall of Assad.

Transcript

00:00Now I recognize Representative Wilson for five minutes.

00:05Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and indeed thank each of you for being here today.

00:09And Ambassador Jeffrey, we are grateful for your successful service as Special Representative for Syria

00:14with the first Trump administration where you led efforts to enforce the Caesar Act

00:18to hold terrorist sponsor and butcher Assad, war criminal Putin, and Iran accountable.

00:24Ambassador, you were ultimately successful of the providing the assistance with Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

00:34In December, butcher Assad abdicated and fled to Moscow.

00:39In November, a badge of honor I received is I was condemned by the Assad regime as an enemy of the state,

00:46which I recognize I was, and now he's gone.

00:49Last week, I appreciate that Congressman Corey Mills and Mike and Marlon Stutzman visited Damascus

00:57as Syria re-achieves independence.

01:00There is such opportunity for the people of Syria to restore freedom.

01:04The U.K. last week lifted sanctions.

01:07With that in mind, what do you think American policy should be to assist the people of Syria?

01:12I gather that you're looking at me, Congressman.

01:20Yes.

01:21First of all, it was the Syrian people who overthrew Assad.

01:27What we had was effective policy done by several administrations with the full support of Congress,

01:36working together with partners and allies that enabled the Syrian people to take that step.

01:43So I think it's a good example of what we're all trying to strive for today.

01:47I think we need to, as the East administration is doing and as the Biden administration in its last days did,

01:54reach out slowly and carefully to the new government and take steps.

02:00As the new government responds to our and other partners' legitimate security concerns,

02:06I think it's on a good path, Congressman, but time will tell.

02:10Well, again, it was your efforts that I think helped make this successful, so thank you so much.

02:16And indeed, Secretary Ambassador Hale, allies purchasing American defense products

02:20are experiencing undue delays in delivery for products that they've already paid for.

02:25For example, Taiwan had bought so much capability to defend themselves, but for years it's been held up.

02:33And then going through the foreign military sales process,

02:37in some cases the delays have been so significant that allies and partners are forced to look elsewhere.

02:42Thankfully, Congressman and Chairman Mike McCaul and now Chairman Brian Mast are champions for reform,

02:49assisted by Ranking Member Greg Meeks.

02:51And, Secretary, what changes do you believe should be made to streamline the process?

02:59I wouldn't assert that I have any great authority or, you know, ideas on that.

03:05I support the idea of streamlining it.

03:07Certainly I share your concern about the delays that we've witnessed over time.

03:11I had to deal with this myself in Lebanon when I was ambassador there.

03:15They were dealing with a tremendous ISIS threat, and we wanted to rapidly provide assistance to the Lebanese authorities,

03:22and we were able to do that.

03:23It took a lot of hard work by an embassy, frankly, and our defense attache, myself, and the teams back here.

03:29So it can be done.

03:31But if you have ways in which you think we were able to streamline this while making sure that, of course,

03:35the money is not diverted into areas that are inappropriate or corrupt, by all means, we should do that.

03:42Once we know we have a policy, it shouldn't be hard to figure out what we're going to do after that.

03:48Well, hey, I want to thank you.

03:50You indicated ambassadorships in Islamabad and Beirut.

03:55My goodness, you really are selected for interesting places.

03:59But on a positive note, there has been change in Lebanon, too.

04:04And so what can we do to work together, hopefully in the spirit of Syria, with Lebanon?

04:11Well, I was also ambassador in Jordan, so that was the garden spot for me.

04:15But, yeah, on Lebanon, we have an opportunity that is rare in life.

04:20There is change underway.

04:22No one would have dreamt a year and a half ago that we would be able to deal with what we're dealing with here.

04:27The worst thing we could do is abandon the Lebanese to themselves.

04:31They still need help.

04:33The central government is very weak.

04:34The moderates there, their families and people have been assassinated by Hezbollah over time.

04:38It's hard for them.

04:40So we need to keep the pressure on Iran.

04:41That's our role.

04:42Our role is not to tinker with the Lebanese reforms and steps.

04:45We should encourage that and help nurture it.

04:48But what America can do is make sure that whatever else we're doing with Iran,

04:51we continue to hold them accountable for the support of Hezbollah

04:54and make sure that they know that we demand the disarmament of Hezbollah.

04:59And, indeed, the Trump administration and its maximum pressure on the head of the snake,

05:05the octopus, and Tehran should be on notice.

05:08For the people of Iran, we're for them.

05:11I yield back.

05:13Thank you, Representative Wilson.

05:14We now recognize Representative Jacobs.

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