Pumped up from his recent re-election, 80-year-old Sen. John McCain (R-Az.) ripped President-Elect Donald Trump for daring to start the slow process of rebuilding relations with Russia. Under President Barack Obama, relations with Russia deteriorated to Cold War lows. McCain urged Barack Oct. 12 to set up a no-fly zone in Syria and, if necessary, shoot down Russian and Syrian warplanes. McCain’s anti-Russian rhetoric has gone over the top, calling Russian President Vladimir Putin “a former KGB agent [Putin] who has plunged his country into tyranny.” McCain knows Russian history that so-called Russian tyranny predates Putin, dating back hundreds of years. McCain holds the exact same view as former Democratic nominee Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton who would have backed a no-fly zone to protect Saudi-U.S.-backed rebel forces seeking to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Putin’s air strikes, starting Sept. 30, 2015, against McCain’s favorite rebel groups in Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria helped al-Assad regain control over the six-year-old Saudi proxy war that’s killed over 300.000 civilians and displaced 12 million more to neighboring countries and Europe. McCain’s, like Hillary, perfectly content to use the Saudi proxy war in Syria to confront Russia, despite warnings Oct. 10 from German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier that reckless U.S. intervention in Syria could cause WWIII. McCain backs the Saudi proxy war against al-Assad, urging Obama to provide cash-and-arms to rebel group parked in Aleppo since 2012. McCain wants protection for his U.S.-friendly opposition groups like the Free Syrian Army. Instead of fighting with the Saudis to topple al-Assad, Obama should have allied himself with Russia to end the war.
Bringing up Putin’s KGB past is so irrelevant, so off-the-wall, so irresponsible it does nothing to mend the dangerous rift between the world’s most powerful nuclear states. Why Obama let U.S.-Russian relations deteriorate is anyone’s guess. Whatever reasons Putin had to annex Crimea March 1, 2014, it does U.S. national security no good to let U.S.-Russian relations to plummet to Cold War lows. Putin didn’t rant-and-rave about the U.S. invasion in Afghanistan or, for that matter, Iraq. Many U.N. member-states didn’t agree with U.S. foreign policy in Iraq and Afghanistan but somehow managed to continue diplomatic relations. Despite the European Union putting a brake on more Russian sanctions, McCain would like to punish Putin more for his aggressive foreign policy. McCain criticized Trump for making overtures to begin repairing U.S.-Russian relations.
Focusing on the Russian bombardment of Aleppo, the mainstream press continues to cast al-Assad as the villain. No one in McCain’s circles or in the mainstream press admits that al-Assad has a right to defend his country against a six-year-old Saudi proxy war. When the Saudis or U.S. talk of “opposition groups,” they’re actually talking about terror groups seeking to topple a sovereign government. Neither Obama nor Hillary sees anything wrong with trying to topple a sovereign U.N. state. Led by the Saudis High Negotiation Commission, the White House doesn’t see the dangers of toppling another Mideast dictator. Things didn’t go well for Hillary or Obama when they toppled Aug. 24, 2011 Libyan strongman Col. Muammar Gaddafi. Spreading Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS] terrorists around Syria, Obama, Hillary and McCain think doing the same tin Syria would promote more stability.
Talking to Russia, Trump wants to take a different direction: Joining forces to defeat ISIS. “Vladimir Putin has rejoined Bashar Assad in his barbaric war against he Syrian people with resumption of large-scale Russian air and missile strikes in Idlib and Homs,” insisted McCain. McCain has no explanation for how toppling al-Assad and pitting the U.S. against Russia helps U.S. national security. Putin’s air strikes target Saudi-U.S.-backed rebel groups seeking to topple al-Assad. Most rebel groups want to topple al-Assad’s Shiite government and replace it with a radical Wahhabi regime. McCain urges Trump to continue endless Mideast wars, pushing the U.S. and Russia to the brink. Trump was elected to end Mideast wars and improve U.S.-Russian relations to better manage dangerous world events. If Trump followed McCain’s prescription, the U.S. and Russia would start WWIII.
McCain’s defamatory remarks about Putin don’t help President-Elect Trump hit the reset button with Russia. More belligerent rhetoric does nothing other than endanger the U.S. and its allies. “With the U.S. presidential transition underway, Vladimir Putin has said in recent days that he wants to improve relations with the United States,” said McCain, skeptical of Putin’s intent. Instead of shooting off his mouth, McCain should let Trump work to fulfill campaign promises, including improving relations with Russia. Whether McCain’s a skeptic or not, the new president sets foreign policy, not McCain. McCain runs the Senate Armed Services Committee as if he’s commander-in-chief. It’s time for McCain to know his place, restrain his belligerent rhetoric and let the new president-elect do his job. With years of deteriorated U.S.-Russian relations, Putin’s ready to repair the damage.
