Virginia State Senator makes Strange Trip to Syria; Shows Support for Assad

Virginia State Senator Dick Black, a Republican with no foreign policy experience, credential, or authority, traveled to Syria where he met with loyalists of President Bashar Al-Assad and promised to lobby for the embattled strongman in the United States. Black was quoted by the official Syrian news agency as telling his hosts, “I will be Syria’s voice.” Before embarking on his bizarre journey, Black resigned as the co-chairman of the Ted Cruz presidential campaign in Virginia “to avoid any possible distraction” his trip might cause. In his resignation letter to the Cruz campaign, Black said the purpose of his trip was to “attempt to restore peace and prevent the slaughter of Christians.” He offered no explanation for his enthusiastic support for Assad, who has presided over the killing of more than 260,000 Syrians and displacement of millions more.