Tom Cotton: ‘Bashar al-Assad Must Ultimately Go’

Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) reacted to reports of chemical weapons used in war-torn Syria, with most blaming President Bashar al-Assad.

Cotton told “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski he supported enforcement of a so-called red line going back to the previous administration. He added that although ISIS may be the “more immediate threat” coming out of Syria, in the end, al-Assad most go.

“Well, there’s been another horrific gas attack by Bashar al-Assad on his own people,” Cotton said. “This happened four years ago. I was one of the few Republicans in Congress at the time that supported the president’s threat to enforce his red line. I wish he had done it then rather than engage in a deal with Russia that obviously didn’t remove their chemical weapons. But now, President Trump is the president, not President Obama, and I would counsel him that the policy needs to be where it was stated under the Obama administration but never actually pursued. Bashar al-Assad must ultimately go. That may not be tomorrow, it may not be next week. ISIS may be our more immediate threat from Syria but we cannot be safe as long as the Assad-Iran-Russia access to in charge in Syria.

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