Hawkish senator cheers neocon shift, says president 'is growing and he is listening'
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told NBC News Meet the Press host Chuck Todd that he hoped President Donald Trump was being drawn into the so-called Washington establishment during an interview Sunday.
Ever since Trump ordered an airstrike in Syria in retaliation for the chemical attack that killed more than 80 Syrian civilians earlier in April, he has received increasing praise from the neoconservative wing of the Republican Party.
Weve got to have strategy. And Ill give them some more time, but so far that strategy is not apparent.
When Todd pointed to those who say the Washington establishment sucked [Trump] in and compromised his conservative populism and America first agenda, McCain unequivocally expressed his glee at the prospect.
I hope so! McCain said before laughing.
Todd, appearing a bit taken aback, laughed before replying, Oh, ok!
Both McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), frequent critics of the president, cheered the action against the Syrian regime and have called for expanded U.S. intervention in the messy Syrian conflict. In a joint statement released April 6, both senators said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must pay a punitive cost for this horrific attack.
In addition to other measures, the United States should lead an international coalition to ground Assads air force, the pair of hawkish GOP senators said. Ultimately, the grounding of Assads air force can and should be part of a new comprehensive strategy to end the conflict in Syria If the President is willing to take the necessary action, he deserves broad bipartisan support, and we will help build it.
Graham went even further during an appearance April 10 on Meet the Press, telling Todd that the U.S. must send five or six thousand more troops to Syria.
I want more American troops, five or six thousand, like we have in Iraq, to help destroy ISIL, Graham had said. That means that well accelerate the demise of ISIL.
Neither McCain nor Graham voted for Trump, and both senators have been notoriously vocal critics of Trump throughout his first few months in office.
I think that [Trump] is growing and he is listening to some very wise, intelligence people, McCain said. But I do believe that we do not have and I support what he did and I support the bunker-buster bomb but weve got to develop a strategy. There is still not an overall strategy that he can come to Congress and his advisers and say, Ok, this is how were going to handle Syria. Heres how were going to handle post-Mosul Iraq.'
Weve got to have strategy. And Ill give them some more time, but so far that strategy is not apparent, McCain said. Because I dont think hes absolutely sure what he needs to do.
Noting that the war crimes in Syria are horrendous, McCain insisted that to just say were only after ISIS, in my view, rather than regime change, is something that we have to rethink.
The Arizona senator expressed his confidence that the president had assembled a strong team on national security, and his belief that Trump is very appropriately listening to them.
Todd noted "not everybody thinks the Washington consensus on foreign policy has worked in the Middle East over the last 25 years," and that this fact provided some of the impetus behind Trump's "America first" platform and his ultimate Election Day victory.
Although McCain admitted that U.S. foreign policy over the past 25 years hasn't worked, he still called for more foreign intervention.
"For eight years we basically did nothing in response to some of the most horrendous war crimes in history. At least [Trump] did something," McCain said. "Now, I hope that there will be a strategy to follow that up. And America is about a moral superiority and our willingness not to fight every fight but at least respond to horrendous acts of inhumanity and war crimes, and also, by the way, Syria will continue to have the spread of al-Qaida if we don't take care of Bashar al-Assad."
When Todd pointed to those who say the Washington establishment sucked [Trump] in and compromised his conservative populism and America first agenda, McCain unequivocally expressed his glee at the prospect.
Compromised? McCain is the only one who compromised especially where we see him posing with ISIL assassins considering that ISIS was created from his homestate. I bet we won't see Trump posing with them.
considering that ISIS was created from [McCains] home state.
ISIS was created in Arizona .NO WAY.
So how did ISIS begin and evolve? Here's a refresher for you:
ISIS sprang from al Qaeda in Iraq. The group's roots are in the Sunni terror group al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), started in 2004 by Jordanian Islamist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It was a major player in the insurgency against the US-led forces that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003, and against the Shiite-dominated government that eventually replaced Hussein.
No, my dear, ISIS was not founded in Arizona .it was founded in Iraq.
where we see [McCain] posing with ISIL assassins
Please show where that factually happened .and not where someone with an agenda alleged it may have happened.