Moving to trap President-elect Trump into a war escalation in Syria, the House rushed through a resolution promoting a U.S.-imposed \u201cno fly zone\u201d that could spark World War III, reports Rick Sterling.<\/p>\n
<\/span>By Rick Sterling<\/p>\n Late in the day, on Nov. 15, one week after the U.S. elections, the lame-duck Congress convened in special session with normal rules suspended so the House could pass House Resolution 5732, the \u201cCaesar Syria Civilian Protection Act\u201d calling for intensifying the already harsh sanctions on Syria, assessing the imposition of a \u201cno fly zone\u201d inside Syria (to prevent the Syrian government from flying) and escalating efforts to press criminal charges against Syrian officials.<\/p>\n HR5732 claims to promote a negotiated settlement in Syria but, as analyzed<\/u><\/a> by Friends Committee for National Legislation, it imposes preconditions which would actually make a peace agreement more difficult.<\/p>\n There was 40 minutes of \u201cdebate\u201d<\/u><\/a> with six representatives (Ed Royce, R-California; Eliot Engel, D-New York; Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Florida; Dan Kildee, D-Michigan; Chris Smith, R-New Jersey; and Carlos Curbelo, R-Florida) all speaking in favor of the resolution. There were few other representatives present, but the House Foreign Affairs Committee stated<\/u><\/a> that the resolution was passed \u201cunanimously\u201d without mentioning these special conditions.<\/p>\n