Texas GOP Rep. Will Hurd says overthrowing Syrian President Bashar Assad must be the first step of any real Syria policy developed by President Trump and his administration.
Appearing on CNN Monday, Hurd said Assad is the catalyst for many of the most pressing problems in the rest of the region.
Rep. @HurdOnTheHill "I think Assad should go…You can't have stability in Syria with Assad in power" https://t.co/duYWIRM4Gu— New Day (@NewDay) April 10, 2017
“You can’t have stability with Assad in power. Assad is the reason why we have a refugee problem. Assad is the reason why a civil started that created a vacuum that allowed ISIS to come in,” Hurd said. “I think ISIS is an immediate threat to the United States but in order to truly demolish them, you have to have Assad go.”
Lawmakers are demanding a strategy from Trump and his administration before they authorize further military action in Syria after last week’s missile strikes. That includes developing a plan for after Assad falls, Hurd said.
“There needs to be more conversation about what does Syria look like post Assad,” Hurd said. “What does Syria look like once the rebels take back Raqqa? These are some of the conversations that the executive branch and Congress should be having a conversation on.”
