Graham: ‘You Should’ Take out Assad if You Can – ‘You Should Destroy His Air Force’

On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) argued that Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and his inner circle “should be considered war criminals, legitimate military targets. If you have the opportunity to take him out, you should.” He further stated Assad’s air force should be destroyed and called for the establishment of safe zones in the country that tell Russia, Iran, and whatever is left of the Assad regime that they will be shot down if they cross the line.

Co-host Brian Kilmeade asked Graham if the US should be “targeting” Assad.

Graham responded, “Yes. I think now he is a legitimate war criminal in the eyes of the international community, and that Assad and his inner circle should be considered war criminals, legitimate military targets. If you have the opportunity to take him out, you should. You should ground his air force. You should destroy his air force. We should set up safe zones inside of Syria, telling the Russians and the Iranians and anything left of Assad, if you cross this line we’ll shoot you down, so the Syrian people can regroup. Get the Arabs involved more, they should pay more. They should be — have a larger presence in Syria. And train up the Syrian Arabs and Kurds to take Assad on, so you can get a better peace agreement at Geneva by changing the balance of power.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett