Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told CNN’s State of the Union, in an interview taped Friday and aired today, that President Obama “waited too long” to address the Libyan crisis. “There is no doubt in my mind about it,” he said. “But now, it is what it is.” Still, he emphasized, “We need now to support him.”
McCain “regrets” that President Obama did not initiate a no-fly zone sooner. “If we had taken this step a couple of weeks ago, a no-fly zone would probably have been enough,” he said. “Now, a no-fly zone is not enough. There needs to be other efforts made.”
But the former GOP presidential nominee ruled out using American ground troops. “I want to preclude ground troops,” he said. “That is not what we are talking about.”