While appearing on Sunday’s edition of CBS’s Face the Nation, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., claimed that rhetoric from the Trump administration “probably was partially to blame” for the Syrian chemical attack that prompted a missile strike on a Syrian airfield.
According to Politico:
“I think it probably was partially to blame. And Secretary [Rex] Tillerson basically saying the same thing after kind of contradicting himself and then saying the same thing argues vigorously for a plan and a strategy,” the Arizona senator said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “As I said, again, taking this action I support and was important.”
Tillerson had said in late March that the Syrian people would determine Assad’s fate.
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McCain said the Trump administration needs to have a more concrete strategy in dealing with Syria and shouldn’t treat Thursday’s U.S. missile strikes as a “one-time deal.” He emphasized that just going after chemical weapons ignores how large a problem Syria has become.
Here’s video of his comments:
Politico added:
McCain also rejected a statement by Tillerson that the U.S. needs to prioritize defeating the Islamic State in Syria before trying to stabilize the country. McCain said the U.S must also be concerned about other reported war crimes by the Assad regime, such as using barrel bombs and starving thousands of prisoners.
“So there’s a lot of war crimes that are taking place. And another aspect of this that I do not agree with the secretary is that you have to just concentrate on ISIS,” McCain said. “We can walk and chew gum.”
Related:
- ISIS beheads four-year-old girl, forces mother to soak hands in blood
- Report: John McCain’s ‘moderate’ allies in Syria behead 40-day-old infant, mother
- Five reasons bombing Syria is a good thing
- Obama regime knew Syria still had chemical weapons — But lied
- Syrian survivor praises Trump, slams CNN: Where were you when civilians were gassed?
