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Senators to Obama: Arming Syrian rebels not enough

Tuesday - 6/18/2013, 6:50pm  ET

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A bipartisan trio of key senators is demanding that President Barack Obama take more decisive action to stem the military advance by Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces.

Democratic Sens. Robert Menendez and Carl Levin and Republican John McCain say in a joint letter to Obama that Syrian government forces are advancing so dramatically that providing weapons to the opposition alone is unlikely to shift the war back in the rebels' favor.

The administration last week authorized lethal aid to the rebels. But it isn't trying to enforce a no-fly zone or otherwise intervene militarily to halt a war that has killed almost 93,000 people.

The senators say the U.S. should consider targeting regime airfields, runways and aircraft, and help rebels establish safe zones in Syria.
