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Activist Post
November 29, 2016
On November 15, 2016, the U.S. House of Representatives convened a special session with the normal rules of order suspended and passed H.R. 5732, also known as the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act. The CSCPA passed unanimously with only forty minutes of “debate” on the floor. Because normal rules were suspended, only a few members of Congress were present for the vote and, conveniently, those members who were present were all warmongers.
The CSCPA, of course, is a bill that both toughens the sanctions on Syria and calls for the creation of a No Fly Zone.
In terms of the new sanctions, the bill would impose new penalties and sanctions on entities doing business with the Syrian government, military, and intelligence. The legislation also requires the President to report to Congress regarding the viability of a No Fly Zone over Syria.
It also allows the Secretary of State to compile and gather evidence for the purpose of prosecuting those who are alleged to have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. This, of course, is all based upon the assumption that the Syrian government has committed such crimes and that only the Syrian government has committed them.
Among the members present who engaged in the forty minutes of “debate” were: Ed Royce, R-California; Eliot Engel, D-New York; Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Florida; Dan Kildee, D-Michigan; Chris Smith, R-New Jersey; and Carlos Curbelo, R-Florida. All of these individuals spoke in favor of the bill.