House panel calls for US to stop recognizing Assad government in Syria

The House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday approved two non-binding resolutions calling on the Obama administration to stop recognizing Bashar al-Assad as president of Syria and to push for the creation of a Syria war crimes tribunal.
Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario (L) chats with U.S. Representatives Chris Smith and Al Green (R) after their news conference at the Department of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Pasay city, metro Manila November 25, 2013. Smith along with the members of the U.S. congressional delegation said in a news conference on Monday, that they expressed their strong support for Philippine humanitarian relief operations as well as upcoming reconstruction and rehabilitation plans of the governmen
Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario (L) chats with US Reps. Chris Smith and Al Green (R) after their news conference at the Department of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Pasay city, metro Manila, Nov. 25, 2013. - REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco
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Julian Pecquet
@JPecquet_ALM

A key House panel passed two non-binding resolutions on Wednesday urging the Obama administration to turn the screws on Bashar al-Assad in the latest bipartisan push for more action in Syria.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee by voice vote adopted a resolution from panel chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., and ranking member Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., urging the United States and the United Nations to stop recognizing Assad's regime as the "rightful" government of Syria and "redirect" humanitarian assistance to private aid organizations.

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