{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cardin.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/cardin-statement-on-deteriorating-situation-in-aleppo-syria", "Cardin Statement on Deteriorating Situation in Aleppo, Syria", "2016-12-14", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "MD", "Benjamin Cardin", "C000141", "www.cardin.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "December 09, 2016\n\t\t\t Cardin Statement on Deteriorating Situation in Aleppo, Syria \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t \u201cAssad\u2019s war crimes are a stain on our collective humanity; We cannot allow Russia\u2026a veneer of legitimacy.\u201d\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, released the following statement Friday as the situation in Aleppo, Syria continues to deteriorate:\r\n\u201cThe late Elie Weisel said \u2018I don\u2019t want my past to become anyone else\u2019s future.\u2019\u00a0\r\n\u201cFor more than 70 years now, civilized people have carried forward the charge to \u2018Never Forget\u2019.\u00a0 That charge has been decimated on the streets of eastern Aleppo.\u00a0 The shame of the international community is piercing as countless innocent Syrian men, women, and children starve and bleed and are bombed to death.\u00a0 No one can escape the chilling images of the 24/7 media cycle that compel us to bear witness to barrel bombs falling on Aleppo\u2019s residents.\r\n\u201cAccording to the United Nations, around 100,000 civilians are currently in areas under the control of armed opposition groups in eastern Aleppo. \u00a0There are also roughly 500 medical cases involving men, women and children who desperately need to be evacuated, especially after the regime intentionally destroyed hospitals and clinics, and targeted doctors and other health workers.\r\n\u201cBashar al-Assad\u2019s war crimes and crimes against humanity are a stain on our collective humanity and a threat to the security of the United States and its allies and partners across the globe.\u00a0 Assad\u2019s regime forces are under-resourced and over-burdened; but he has been buttressed on the ground and in the air by Russia, Iran and Hezbollah.\u00a0 Assad has violated Syria\u2019s obligations under the Convention on Chemical Weapons as confirmed by the Joint Implementation Mechanism of the UN and the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons; but he is protected by Russia.\u00a0 Assad has lost legitimacy to govern and is himself a magnet for terror and violent extremism; but he is shielded at the Security Council by Russia.\u00a0\r\n\u201cRussia and China\u2019s December 5 veto of a U.N. Security Council Resolution that called for a temporary humanitarian pause in Aleppo was a vote to continue the Assad regime\u2019s campaign of bombing, starving and murdering the Syrian people into surrender.\u00a0 Russia and China voted to continue the atrocities, deny emergency humanitarian aid, bar hundreds of critically wounded and disabled civilians from evacuation and other grotesque violations of\u00a0international humanitarian law.\u00a0\r\n\u201cFor years now, Russia has not been a partner for in ending the violence and engaging in a serious peace process.\u00a0 We cannot allow Russia\u2019s participation in the current Geneva negotiations to provide them a veneer of legitimacy.\r\n\u201cThe reality is that Russia and Iran should be held accountable for war crimes as they continue to take actions that ensure Syria will remain a terrorist attraction, with a generation of Syrians lost to malnutrition and radicalization.\u00a0 They and the Assad regime must be held accountable.\u00a0\r\n\u201cI welcome the December 7 statement by the governments of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the U.S. that announced their readiness \u2018to consider additional restrictive measures against individuals and entities that act for or on behalf of the Syrian regime.\u2019\u00a0 I am ready to work with my colleagues in Congress to reinforce these restrictive measures through legislation, including passing the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act when Congress reconvenes in January.\u201d\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cardin.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/cardin-statement-on-deteriorating-situation-in-aleppo-syria"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0356090497225523, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}