New York, Apr 15 (Just News): Ambassador Nikki Haley, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, delivered remarks this morning at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss military strikes in Syria by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France that targeted the Syrian regime's chemical weapons program.
“A week has gone by in which we have talked. We’ve talked about the victims in Douma. We’ve talked about the Assad regime and its patrons, Russia and Iran. We’ve spent a week talking about the unique horror of chemical weapons. The time for talk ended last night. We’re here today because three permanent members of the United Nations Security Council acted. The United Kingdom, France, and the United States acted – not as revenge, not as punishment, not as a symbolic show of force. We acted to deter the future use of chemical weapons by holding the Syrian regime responsible for its atrocities against humanity.”
“With yesterday’s military action, our message was crystal clear. The United States of America will not allow the Assad regime to continue to use chemical weapons. Last night, we obliterated the major research facility that it used to assemble weapons of mass murder. I spoke to the President this morning and he said if the Syrian regime uses this poison gas again, the United States is locked and loaded. When our President draws a red line, our President enforces the red line.”
“The Security Council has failed in its duty to hold those who use chemical weapons to account. That failure is largely due to Russian obstruction. We call on Russia to take a hard look at the company it keeps, and live up to its responsibilities as a Permanent Member of the Council and defend the actual principles the United Nations was meant to promote. Last night, we successfully hit the heart of Syria’s chemical weapons enterprise, and because of these actions, we are confident that we have crippled Syria’s chemical weapons program. We are prepared to sustain this pressure, if the Syrian regime is foolish enough to test our will.”
(Justnews/ys/1350hr)
