The Syrian opposition to the Assad regime is “demoralized,” and President Obama’s refusal to give them arms is “shameful,” Senator John McCain (R., Ariz.) said on Face the Nation.
McCain said he didn’t know whether or not Congress would approve the Obama’s request for military authorization, but suggested the president needed to put forward a strategy that went beyond “pinprick” missile strikes. The best way to eliminate the threat of chemical weapons would be to remove Assad from power, McCain said, and the United States should at the very least be providing arms to the “moderate” Syrian rebel groups in an effort to achieve that aim.
He slammed the Obama administration’s decision not to act more decisively in Syria when the conflict erupted two years ago, but warned that the consequences of Congress’s denying authorization to strike now would have “very serious” consequences and send the wrong signal to our enemies.