Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Thursday said he wasn't surprised that Russia and China vetoed United Nations sanctions against Syria, quipping that they are "not a fan of replacing other dictators."
The senator criticized President Obama for not doing enough to quell the violence in Syria, which began with an uprising against President Bashar Assad.
"I don't think we're doing enough. We don't need to be covert," Graham said on Fox News. "The last thing in the world America needs to do is hide from leadership ... I want to be overt. I want my country, our country, to stand against the torture and the murder and the slaughter.
"And it's in our national security interest to take Assad out sooner rather than later because Iran is watching what we're doing. ... I don't want to be covert at all."
Graham's comments came after Russia and China
vetoed a U.N. resolution calling for sanctions against the Syrian government. It was the third round of vetoes by the two countries since the violence in Syria broke out 17 months ago.
The United States and its European allies had called for a 45-day renewal of the United Nations mission in Syria, with sanctions to come into play if the violence continued. Russia and China had proposed a 90-day extension without the threat of sanctions, and were unwilling to negotiate despite calls from President Obama and other European leaders.
The White House affirmed Wednesday that the United States military would remain uninvolved in the mounting chaos, opting for diplomacy and international negotiation instead of arming Syrian rebel forces.
“We do not believe that violence is the answer, and it is precisely because of the ongoing campaign by President Assad against his own people that we are seeing a situation that is getting worse and worse,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday. “The incident today makes clear that Assad is losing control, that violence is increasing rather than decreasing, and that all of our partners internationally need to come together and support a transition.”
But Republicans in Congress disagree, calling for military action and aid to Syrian rebel forces rather than a political leadership transition in the war-torn country.
"What should we do? We should be on the right side of history" Graham said. "We should help arm the rebels, should help train them with the coalition of other countries — Arab countries, Turkey. We should be part of a coalition of the willing to establish a no-fly, no-drive zone to shield the people from the barbaric activity of Assad.
"He's going to go," Graham continued. "We should get to know the people who are going to replace him. We should be with them in their darkest hour rather than observing history, we should help mold history. The Obama administration has played this very poorly."
