McCain: Joint Chiefs Answer One of ‘More Embarrassing Statements I’ve Ever Heard’

McCain: Vice Chair of Joint Chiefs’ Answer at Hearing One of ‘More Embarrassing Statements I’ve Ever Heard’ (The Washington Free Beacon)

Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) lambasted the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday for his answer to a question on implementing no-fly zones in Syria, calling the response “embarrassing.”

Vice Chairman Gen. Paul Selva’s answer to a question posed by Sen. Roger Wicker (R., Miss.) is what triggered the criticism. Wicker asked Selva, who was testifying alongside Secretary of Defense Ash Carter on the fight to counter the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, whether the United States currently has the capabilities to put into effect a no-fly zone over parts of Syria.

Selva confirmed that the U.S. has the “military capacity to impose a no-fly zone,” but said the Pentagon has not recommended doing so out of fear of a potential escalation in conflict through “miscalculation” with Russian and Syrian armed forces in the air.