McCain: ‘We Don’t Have a Strategy’ for Syria

TAPPER: “All right, let’s move on to Syria. President Obama saying on Friday that his administration is not going to make Syria into a proxy war with Russia. Take a listen.” 
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OBAMA: “We’re not going to make Syria into a proxy war between the United States and Russia. That would be bad strategy on our part. This is not some, you know, superpower chessboard contest.” 
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TAPPER: “My question to you, Senator, is this conflict in Syria already a proxy war with Russia?”

MCCAIN: “Of course it is. And when the president says we’re not going have that strategy, we don’t have a strategy. Excuse me? We don’t have a strategy. Jake, you had to recall the events that took place over the weekend, when the president — when John Kerry, when we were watching this and — military buildup, including anti-aircraft missile batteries and fighter aircraft. ISIS doesn’t have fighter aircraft or — and so that was kind of interesting. But, more importantly, John Kerry called Lavrov three times to find out what was going on. The president met for 90 minutes with Vladimir Putin. Then, 48 hours later, a Russian general shows up at our embassy in Baghdad to give us an hour warning that strikes are commencing. That is treating the United States with disdain and contempt. And, of course, they are hitting the Free Syrian Army enclaves and places which have had some success. This is the CIA-run operations. And they want to take them out. With Vladimir Putin and Bashar Assad want to do is provide us with the choice between ISIS and Bashar Assad, that — but — and in order to do that, you take out the Free Syrian Army, which in the case the DOD-trained one, group, is now down to four or five, approximately $9 million each.”