every time chemical weapons are moved, unloaded and used on the battlefield, it raises the likelihood that these weapons will fall into the hands of terrorists active in syria, including assad's ally hezbollah and al qaeda affiliates. that prospect puts americans at risk of chemical attacks targeted at our soldiers and diplomats in the region and even, potentially, our citizens at home. >> president obama does not want to get involved in this conflict. he wants to degrade assad's capability of using this weapon and affect his cost-benefit calculus, because he will use again and again and again. and it's only a matter of time before these weapons will fall into the hands of nonstate actors, again, imperilling some of our closest allies in the region but also in the long term hurting the united states. >> i know you've been asked