- The Washington Times - Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Since the United States is already conducting airstrikes over Syria to root out and kill Islamic State terrorists, the military ought to just go ahead and bomb President Bashar Assad — that’s the theory coming from the Syrian National Coalition camp anyway.

SNC head Nasr al-Hariri said he decries that the “international community has come up with partial solutions to the Syrian conflict in which hundreds of thousands were killed or detained by the Assad regime,” The Associated Press reported.

In a statement released Wednesday, Mr. al-Hariri also added that any Western-led attempt to oust the terrorist group that doesn’t include overthrowing Mr. Assad is only a futile effort that will ultimately ratchet up terrorism in the state, AP reported.

The United States partnered with several Arab nations to launch airstrikes over Syria on Tuesday that are aimed at destroying the Islamic State.

Months ago, Mr. Assad was a prime target of the Obama administration, after key players — including the United Nations — found that he very well could have unleashed chemical weapons on his own citizens.

Then, President Obama vowed several times that he would take harsh action if Mr. Assad did not turn over his weapons cache — the administration’s so-called red line that never did lead to additional U.S. military intervention.

• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.

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