When 70-year-old Donald Trump took office Jan. 20, his biggest obstacle to advancing his agenda were not Democrats but anti-Trump Republicans like Sen. John McCain (R-Az.), Chairman of the Armed Services Committee. Trump promised during the campaign he’d reset relations with Russia, something that slipped to Cold War lows under former President Barack Obama. Obama essentially ceded his foreign policy to McCain and other Capitol Hill war hawks, looking for confrontation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. McCain’s influence on Obama’s foreign policy cannot be overstated. Obama, under McCain’s pressure, backed the six-year-long Saudi proxy war against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. McCain urged Obama to back Syrian rebel groups with close ties with al-Qaeda’s Jabhat al-Nusra Front, to topple al-Assad’s Damascus government.
McCain urged Obama Oct. 12, 2016 to set up a dangerous no-fly zone against the advice of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to confront Russia on the battlefield. McCain’s close ties to Saudi Arabia are undeniable. Backing the Saudi proxy war in Syria has caused over 400,000 deaths, 12 million Syrians displaced to neighboring countries and Europe, creating the worst humanitarian crisis since WWII. Refugees from Syria pouring into Europe has stretched the European Union to the breaking point, driving Great Britain out with the June 23 Brexit vote to leave the EU. McCain’s backing of the Saudi proxy war, arming-and-funding insurgent groups to topple al-Assad, blew up on McCain and Obama when Syrian forces with Russian air support drove Saudi-U.S.-backed rebels out of Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city. Refusing to admit failure, McCain continues to back the Saudi proxy war against al-Assad.
McCain, who was beaten badly by Obama in 2008 for president, wants to run U.S. foreign policy from the Senate Armed Services Committee. His vendetta against Trump warrants a sit down with House and Senate leadership, being so far out-of-line it defies precedent. McCain’s foreign policy advice to Obama on Syria prompted former German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeir to warn the world against WWIII. McCain actually urged Obama to shoot down Syrian and Russian warplanes if they violate a no-fly zone in Syria. Demonizing Putin at every turn, McCain harks back to the most obsolete Cold War rhetoric. Trump, not McCain, ran on a platform to reset U.S.-Russian relations. McCain’s contempt toward Trump is welcomed by the liberal media, frequently exploiting McCain as an authority on what’s wrong with Trump’s foreign and domestic policy.
Liberal media outlets like to quote McCain because he’s a so-called Republican ready-and-willing to slam Trump on any topic. When you consider Trump’s recent travel ban, it directly relates to McCain and other war hawks backing Obama’s policy of supporting the Saudi proxy war to topple al-Assad. Had Obama stopped the proxy war against al-Assad, tens-of-thousands of Syrian lives could have been saved. Backing the Saudi proxy war created the refugee crisis fueling terrorism in the U.S. and EU. McCain’s so hell-bent on confronting Putin, he can’t see how his backing of the Saudi proxy war is what prompted Trump to declare a travel ban from war-torn Mideast countries. Without Obama and McCain’s failed proxy war in Syria, the Mideast and Europe would not be flooded with refugees. Yet McCain wants to fight Trump on ending the proxy war against al-Assad.
McCain complains about Trump’s immigration order but won’t admit his proxy war policy caused the refugee disaster. “This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security,” said McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham. McCain and Graham repeat almost verbatim former Democratic nominee Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton who admonished Trump for increasing the chances of terrorism. Trump’s immigration ban sends a loud message to foreign governments that the U.S. is now taking border security seriously. Whether any group attacks the U.S. in the future has no bearing on Trump’s current travel ban. Terror groups will continue to hit the U.S. or its allies, with or without Trump’s temporary travel ban.
McCain feeds the liberal press’s paranoia that Trump’s attempt to reset relations with Russia stems from his vast business interests. Exploiting McCain for his anti-Trump views, the media knows how to stir the pot but not ask honest questions. Instead of calling Obama and McCain out for backing the six-year Saudi proxy war causing the worst humanitarian crisis since WWII, they blame Trump for fulfilling his campaign promise of tightening up immigration from the Mideast. While the media rails against Trump’s travel ban, a Jan. 30 Rasmussen poll shows the 57% of respondents favor Trump’s travel ban. Just like the run up to the election, the media has its own agenda that doesn’t match American voters. Exploited by the liberal press, McCain and other Capitol Hill war hawks have become the latest cannon fodder for the anti-Trump crowd to throw roadblocks at the White House.
