Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, said the ongoing unrest in the Middle East could well have been stabilized had the United States left residual forces there.
“We predicted this and watched it — it was like watching a train wreck,” Mr. McCain said on CNN’s “New Day.” “And warning every step of the way that this was happening because a residual force would have stabilized the situation.”
Two years ago, when President Obama’s top advisers recommended arming the Free Syrian Army, he overruled them, Mr. McCain said.
“If we had armed the Free Syrian Army then, the situation on the ground would be dramatically different now,” he said.
Mr. Obama admitted in an interview on “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday that the United States had underestimated the rise of the Islamic State terrorist group, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
Mr. McCain said Americans would be supportive of the military campaign against the group if they were able to see some sort of “light at the end of the tunnel,” but also said ground troops would have to be part of the equation in addition to airstrikes and training of rebel forces.
“If the American people are told what’s at stake, and that is, our intelligence people say that ISIS is a direct threat to the United States of America, then I think [we] will support the president,” he said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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