US Senator pressures Barack Obama to intervene in Syria

Dead Sea, Jordan: Senator John McCain raised the pressure on the Obama administration to intervene in Syria when he called for a US-backed no-fly zone in Syria which would support a safe haven for moderate and centrist opposition Syrian forces.

McCain, who is on both the Foreign Relations and Armed Forces Committees of the Senate, and Senator Bob Menendez, who is Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, both paid unannounced visits to the World Economic Forum meeting on the Middle East, Their visit preceded an important speech on US policy in the Middle East by Secretary of State John Kerry expected late Sunday afternoon.

McCain said he supported the Geneva Two process under which Kerry is currently talking to the Russians, but he was deeply cynical about any success if President Bashar Al Assad has any sense that he might survive.

“We need to change the situation on the ground to support the rebels,” said McCain. “We need to set up a no-fly zone, destroy or immobilize the Syrian air force, deploy Patriot missiles to enforce the no-fly zone, while also arming those rebel groups that share our values.”

Added urgency to McCain’s call for US action was spelt out by Menendez who said that the use of chemical weapons by the government in Syria and the slaughter of civilians has forced the US to consider all options.

“There is a real risk that chemical weapons could be captured and used by radical groups, and that terrorists could form bases in Syria as the country collapses,” said Menendez, who added that the shocking total of 80,000 killed and over 1.5 million people displaced is already reason enough to intervene.

“No-one wants US troops on the ground, but we should give arms to vetted opposition organisations that back a pluralistic Syria,” said McCain. “A year ago there was just a handful of jihadists in Syria, but now there are as many as 7,000,” he said, arguing that inaction by the US would only allow the situation to deteriorate further.

The two senators have backed a bipartisan bill that has passed the committee stage and will go the full Senate, which in addition to arming such centralist opposition groups, will also build a transitional fund to support areas of Syria under opposition control, and apply sanctions on those countries or organisations that back Al Assad’s regime.