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Syrian President Bashar Assad

“We have an obligation and responsibility to think through the consequences of any direct U.S. military action in Syria. Military intervention at this point could hinder humanitarian relief operations. It could embroil the United States in a significant, lengthy and uncertain military commitment. Unilateral military action could strain other key international partnerships, as no international or regional consensus on supporting armed intervention now exists. And finally, a military intervention could have the unintended consequence of bringing the United States into a broader regional conflict or proxy war.”
— Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, testifying Wednesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the downside of any U.S. intervention in Syria, where an estimated 60,000 have died in the two-year civil war.
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