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Washington DC - The Coalition for a Democratic Syria (CDS), a coalition of Syrian-American organizations, has issued a scorecard evaluating the stated Syria policy of the 2016 presidential candidates. The scorecard measures each candidate's position according to the needs of the Syrian people, the views of the Syrian-American community, and the analysis of experts tasked with resolving the conflict.
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The atrocities of the Assad regime, overwhelming refugee crisis in Europe, intervention of traditional U.S. adversaries, and threat of violent extremism make Syria the top foreign policy issue in the 2016 presidential election. The scorecard assesses each candidate's stated positions on the following issues-civilian protection, the enforcement of U.S. stated security directives, military support to the moderate opposition fighting Assad and ISIS, and the resettlement of Syrian refugees to the United States. CDS considers these to be critical factors in addressing the immediate humanitarian crisis facing Syria and creating the conditions for a viable peace negotiation to take place. This report card is for informational purposes and does not endorse any candidate.
"We commend the candidates that have backed policies that protect civilians and support the democratic aspirations of the Syrian people," said CDS Chairman Yahya Basha. "We encourage other candidates to reconsider their policy to do the same," added CDS board member Mirna Barq.
Those interested may view the scorecard here.
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