Posted on 04/09/2017 8:00:46 PM PDT by VitacoreVision
Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) made a trip to northern Syria to visit U.S. military forces and Kurdish fighters and to discuss the campaign for defeating the Islamic State (ISIS), his office said on February 22.
The news of McCains trip to Syria was broken by the Wall Street Journal in a February 22 report that cited unnamed officials.
Another report from CNN the next day quoted Julie Tarallo, a spokeswoman for McCain, who said he made the official but unannounced visit to northern Syria as the militarys campaign to take ISIS de facto capital in Raqqa unfolds.
Senator McCain traveled to northern Syria last week to visit U.S. forces deployed there and to discuss the counter-ISIL campaign and ongoing operations to retake Raqqa, Tarallo said, using the term for ISIS that began with the Obama administration.
McCains office said his visit to Syria was an opportunity to assess dynamic conditions on the ground there and also praised President Trump for requesting a review of the U.S. strategy to defeat ISIS.
Raqqa was captured by ISIS in 2013 and the terrorist organization went on to make the city its headquarters in Syria in 2014.
CNN noted that McCain who has a long history as an interventionist on U.S. foreign policy has argued for more aggressive military involvement in the Syrian civil war.
This was McCains first visit to Syria since 2013. A CNN report back on May 27th, 2013 cited a statement from McCains communications director that he had visited with anti-Assad rebels in Syria. The report noted that While in Syria, McCain met with General Salem Idris, the leader of the Supreme Military Council of the Free Syrian Army.
The support that McCain gave to the Free Syrian Army by means of his visit was problematic, however. A report from Breitbart on July 8, 2014 noted that several factions within the moderate rebel army may not have been so moderate after all. It observed:
Reports coming out of eastern Syria Monday revealed that several factions within the Syrian opposition force known as the Free Syrian Army (FSA) have pledged services to the Islamic State, the group formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). Sources and eyewitnesses said that the FSA has handed over its weapons to the Islamic State in large numbers.
The Free Syrian Army was said to be a moderate and secular force, which was used as the rationale by U.S. officials to supply the opposition force with weapons and training.
Sources told Homs, Syria-based Zaman Alwasl newspaper that several factions within the FSA, including Ahl Al Athar, Ibin al-Qaim, and Aisha have pledged to support the Islamic State.
The report noted that the Obama administration had delivered weapons, supplies, and CIA-sponsored training to the Free Syrian Army.
The New American posted an article on May 25, 2013 that summarized the objections expressed by Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to discuss sending arms to the Syrian rebels. Senators Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) had co-sponsored a bill that authorized critical support to the Syrian opposition through provision of military assistance, training, and additional humanitarian support.
Paul had offered two amendments to the bill one that would have forbidden the transfer of weapons to the rebel forces fighting to oust the government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and another that would have prevented the use of U.S. military armed forces in Syria. But both of Pauls amendments were rejected and the bill sailed through the committee, passing with bipartisan support by a vote of 15-3.
Paul said afterwards that it is a mistake to arm vetted Syrian rebels to counter the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Its a mistake to arm them. Most of the arms weve given to the so-called moderate rebels have wound up in the hands of ISIS, because ISIS simply takes it from them, or its given to them, or we mistakenly actually give it to some of the radicals, Paul said on CBSs This Morning.
In 2013 McCain applauded the Obama administration for providing weapons to the Syrian rebels attempting to topple the regime of Bashar al-Assad, but said that provided arms was not enough.
An ABC News report in June 2013 reported:
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) who has been vocal on the need for more U.S. action against the Assad regime, praised the finding by the government [regarding the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime] and pressed Obama to offer lethal assistance to rebel forces.
But providing arms alone is not sufficient, said McCain in a joint statement with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) That alone is not enough to change the military balance of power on the ground against Assad. The president must rally an international coalition to take military actions to degrade Assads ability to use air power and ballistic missiles and to move and resupply his forces around the battlefield by air. This can be done, as we have said many times, using stand-off weapons such as cruise missiles."
We cannot afford to delay any longer, the senators added.
Assad is on the offensive with every weapon in his arsenal and with the complete support of his foreign allies. We must take more decisive actions now to turn the tide of the conflict in Syria.
Every bone in my body knows that simply providing weapons will not change the battlefield equation and we must change the battlefield equation," McCain later added on the Senate floor.
Otherwise, you are going to see a regional conflict the consequences of which we will be paying for a long, long time.
McCains eagerness to go to war against Assad is reminiscent of the charges that former President George W. Bush made as he built a case for invading Iraq to depose then-strongman Saddam Hussein. Much of Bushs case was built on unsubstantiated information that Saddam Husseins regime had weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
Bush addressed the nation from the Oval Office on March 19, 2003, to announce the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, stating:
The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder.
McCain was a supporter of the invasion of Iraq. In remarks in the Senate on March 19, 2003, he stated, in part:
Madam [Senate] President, there is one thing I am sure of, that we will find the Iraqi people have been the victims of an incredible level of brutalization, terror, murder, and every other kind of disgraceful and distasteful oppression on the part of Saddam Hussein's regime .
So I respectfully disagree with the remarks of the Senator from West Virginia [Robert Byrd]. I believe the President of the United States has done everything necessary and has exercised every option short of war, which has led us to the point we are today.
I believe that, obviously, we will remove a threat to America's national security because we will find there are still massive amounts of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
However, after the invasion, the Report of the Select Committee on Intelligence on the U.S. Intelligence Communitys Prewar Intelligence Assessments on Iraq, which was released on July 9, 2004, found that many of the Bush administration's pre-war statements about Iraqi WMD were not supported by the underlying intelligence.
Following the removal of Saddam, the power vacuum in Iraq created fertile territory for the rise of ISIS. After seizing a large portion of Iraq, ISIS then turned its attention to Syria, where it sought to establish and Islamic state. It joined forces with many of the rebel forces supported by the United States that were trying to overthrow Assad.
The negative fallout that inevitably results from our nations interventionist foreign policy and commitment to regime change is a lesson that McCain, during his long career in government, seems never to have learned, however. An article in The New American in 2014 (Obamas Anti-ISIS Coalition Built ISIS, Biden Admits) cited statements made by former Vice President Joe Biden at a speech delivered at Harvard Universitys John F. Kennedy School of Government that confirmed a truth that the writer said has long been accepted among credible analysts: Despite all of former President Obamas rhetoric, there is no such thing as a moderate force in Syria that the White House claims to have been supporting against Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Among the most revealing points quoted in the article was Bidens admission:
The fact is, the ability to identify a moderate middle in Syria, um, was, uh there was no moderate middle. What my constant cry was, that our biggest problem was our allies our allies in the region were our largest problem they were so determined to take down Assad and essentially have a proxy Sunni-Shia war .
They poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens, thousands of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Assad; except that the people who were being supplied were Al Nusra and Al Qaeda and the extremist elements of jihadis coming from other parts of the world.
Biden neglected to mention the role of the CIA and the U.S. State Department in the process, a role that was just as key as the role of our allies.
McCain is a bipartisan interventionist, however. Whether the occupant of the oval office is a Democrat such as Obama or a Republican such as Bush or Trump, he has never met an incursion into a foreign nation that he didnt like. While he did criticize Trump for calling the recent Navy SEAL operation in Yemen a success, that criticism was based on the fact that the operation resulted in the loss of a Navy SEAL and an aircraft, not on the fact that we had intervened there. Back in 2015, McCain and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) both said that an increase in the U.S. presence in Yemen might be necessary to stop Iranian influence in the country.
McCain said at the time that Iran is on the march in Yemen.
There is one further aspect of McCains recent visit to Syria that we should consider. That is whether of not McCains action constituted a violation of the Logan Act. As was noted in a recent article posted by The New American, the largely unknown Logan Act, which was passed more than 200 years ago, is a federal statute that makes it a crime for Americans to seek to influence the policies of foreign governments without official permission from U.S. authorities.
The Logan Act reads: Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
Although no American has ever been prosecuted under the Logan Act, accusations fueled by the media that he was in violation of the law was named as a factor forcing Trumps national security advisor, Lt. General Michael Flynn, to resign after serving just 24 days in that position.
Having served in the Senate since 1987 and running as the Republican Partys candidate for the presidency in 2008, McCain is a well-entrenched Washington insider who has most likely built up a political immunity to the forces that drove Flynn from his position. His possible violation of the Logan Act is nevertheless an interesting point to ponder.
Related articles:
U.S.-backed Syrian Opposition Linked to Bilderberg, CFR, Goldman Sachs & George Soros
In Syria, Obama-backed Rebels Battle Obama-backed Militias
Rand Paul: Senate Is Arming Al-Qaeda and Rushing to War in Syria
Obama Builds Up Syrian Air Base With Banned Communist Group
U.S. Intel: Obama Coalition Supported Islamic State in Syria
Obama Considers Military Cooperation with Iran Terror Regime
ISIS: The Best Terror Threat U.S. Tax Money Can Buy
Obama Deepening Syria War as Prelude to More War, Based on Lies
Globalists Using Muslim Terrorists as Pawns
In Iraq, U.S. Foreign Policy and Obamas Rebels Strike Again
Soros and CFR Exploit Refugee Crisis for New World Order
Christian Massacres: A Result of U.S. Foreign Policy
I don’t believe this chump is capable of acting honorably under ANY circumstances. I want Trump to re-open McCain’s POW files and records, including any access we may have or obtain from NVA sources.
Not a problem, I have loads of the same steam. It’s a wonder this country hasn’t blown its top because of it.
I agree, he is totally nucking futz.
This is why many (most?) of us paleoconservatives are not reflexive foreign interventionists. I and others have been debating the overthrow-Assad cadre in this forum for some time, and when presented with this kind of evidence, the response is a shrug and the usual personal insults. If support for the rebel scum is not treason, I do not know what is.
Can’t read this insanity. When will he be indicted for treason?
Please, someone, challenge McCain in next election! Time for this old communist to go!
Ahhh... going point. “:^)
I like that. Good one.
It seems the people who knew better, are now aging and just don’t seem to care anymore.
When my folks were still pretty active in politics, at least situational awareness, they never bought into the idea the Clintons were as bad as I thought they were.
They didn’t vote for them, but they couldn’t grasp the idea they were grifter hoodlums.
That was frustrating for me, because I always thought they were moral people. I think it’s just that they aged and didn’t want to dwell on it.
Heck, I’m their age now, and I detest them and the Obamas. It’s hard enough not to despise ALL the Bushes these days know what we know.
Since 2012 the Free Syrian Army has been allied with IS ally and AQ affiliated al Nusra.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3542709/posts?page=1
Didn’t we are Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan to fight the Russians? Then he turned against us. Here we are again, arming those same folks to fight the Russians. Full circle.
Seditionist and traitor pretty well sums up this old loser.
The Senate needs to expel McCain.
McCain is to Trump what Ted Kennedy was to Reagan.
“...Husseins regime had weapons of mass destruction (WMD)...”
I remember the time well. Bush worked through the UN for 12 years before they approved a resolution to invade Iraq. He had wide approval from Mideast and European countries many of whom provided some tangible support. The media made the WMD a big deal but Hussain violated several resolutions. Plus he challenged the UN/American “no fly” often. Twelve years passed before the invasion and everything was done with the UN Security Council’s OK.
GIVE MC CAIN A RIFLE AND TURN HIM LOOSE.....
he wnats war.... let HIM fight it..
the US needs a coherent middle east policy... not the helter skelter jackass plan mc cain is pursuing...
AGAIN WE CAN THANK OBAMA AND BRENNAN FOR LEAVING IRAQ ... GIVING AWAY VICTORY AND SUPPORTING OUR ENEMY AND CREATING ISIS... THANKS TRAITORS
I hadn’t seen that, but it confirms everything else that I’ve read. Even worse, consider membership...how likely is it that a member of one of those groups is also overtly or covertly a member of a different one. What is the likelihood that a member of a disfavored group, if cornered, won’t simply change costumes to one of our “partners” in theatre??
oh wait, I am a “blame America first coward” for even asking. /s
Anyone who questions the Uniparty/Globalist/Neocon agenda is a Russian bot.
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