McCain Calls For More Than Airstrikes In Syria

On Friday, President Trump directed the U.S. military to conduct an airstrike to destroy the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons research, development and production capabilities. After France, the United Kingdom and the US struck the Syrian chemical weapons infrastructure in a late night campaign, Sen. John McCain called for more.

McCain, who is known for his extremely hawkish stand, praised Trump for ordering airstrikes in Syria. “I applaud the president for taking military action against the Assad regime for its latest use of chemical weapons, and for signaling his resolve to do so again if these heinous attacks continue,” McCain said in a statement.

“To succeed in the long run, we need a comprehensive strategy for Syria and the entire region,” continued McCain. “The president needs to lay out our goals, not just with regard to ISIS, but also the ongoing conflict in Syria and malign Russian and Iranian influence in the region. Airstrikes disconnected from a broader strategy may be necessary, but they alone will not achieve U.S. objectives in the Middle East.”

“I hope these strikes impose meaningful costs on Assad,” concluded McCain. “The message to Assad must be that the cost of using chemical weapons is worse than any perceived benefit, that the United States and our allies have the will and capability to continue imposing those costs, and that Iran and Russia will ultimately be unsuccessful in protecting Assad from our punitive response.”

“We are prepared to sustain this response until the Syrian regime stops its use of prohibited chemical agents,” Trump said on Friday evening.

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