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By: Michael Bamesberger
From: Lincoln Journal-Star
The consensus is clear among Saudi Arabian officials -- Syrian President Bashar Assad must step down, Sen. Ben Nelson said Tuesday.
"There is no question he has to leave,: Nelson said in a telephone interview from Saudi Arabia.
Nelson met with Saudi Arabian King Abdullah on Monday and said Arab leaders hope growing international pressure will force Assad to leave office without military intervention, although the option still is on the table.
"The regime is not going to change without some action," Nelson said.
Nelson traveled to the region Friday, just as violence in the Syrian village of Houla left more than 100 civilians dead, including 49 children and 34 women. Witnesses blamed pro-government militias for the attacks, while the Syrian government said the violence was caused by terrorists.
Saudi Arabian officials, as well as the leaders of other Persian Gulf countries, are committed to Assad's removal, though they hope to "avoid the circumstances that occurred in Libya," Nelson said.
In addition, Nelson and leaders in the region agree that Iran should not have nuclear weapons.
"(Iran) has isolated itself," he said. "People are not trusting of Iran or its intentions."
Nelson also visited Egypt, which was holding the country's first competitive democratic election.
The first round of voting narrowed the presidential field from 13 candidates to two –- Ahmed Shafiq, a former prime minister under ex-President Hosni Mubarak's regime, and Mohammed Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood-backed candidate. The president will be decided in a run-off election June 16-17.
Despite rioting and accusations of fraud after the election results, Nelson said he and many other U.S. observers on the ground, including former President Jimmy Carter, were satisfied with how the process went.
"I don't see how those allegations can have any substance," he said. "I believe they've already been handled and dismissed."
Though the outcome of the June election is unclear, Nelson said the new president will need to have a relationship with the United States.
In addition, if the Muslim Brotherhood-backed candidate is elected, he hopes the new president "turns outward" to the United States instead of turning away.
Egyptian ministers said those unhappy with the results must know that democracy permits change in the next election, not in 40 years as with the Mubarak regime, Nelson said.
Nelson returns to the U.S. on Wednesday.
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