Oh look! It's John McCain on a Sunday show pushing for the United States to start dropping more bombs on people's heads. What a rare treat it is that our corporate media allows McCain on for more warmongering. That never happens, does it?
Here he is with guest host Martha Raddatz on This Week, where he actually got a little bit of push back about the dangers of the United States escalating our involvement in Syria, but McCain just brushed it off.
So we might get the Russians involved if we go in there... or be arming terrorists. So what? What could possibly go wrong?
I guess you've got to give McCain credit for one thing. He is at least consistent in never being able to find a military conflict somewhere that he doesn't want to help escalate. Consistently wrong... but consistent. No amount of bad behavior ever goes unrewarded by our media if you're a Republican. I was shocked to see this is only his tenth appearance on a Sunday show this year. I guess it just feels like more since he's got his mug on Fox and CNN so often throughout the week as well.
RADDATZ: I -- I want to move on to Syria. It's been more than a week since Israeli jets hit targets in Syria. More than two weeks since the U.S. said that there was evidence of the use of chemical weapons. What should be happening now concerning, especially these chemical weapons, and the red line that the president talked about?
MCCAIN: Well, the president said he wants a U.N. investigation. The only problem with that is the U.N. can't get into -- into Syria.
RADDATZ: And we read this morning that Assad's forces are making incredible gains. You...
MCCAIN: Incredible gains?
RADDATZ: ...you talked about...
MCCAIN: Which...
RADDATZ: ...a no-fly zone, striking targets. What good does that do?
MCCAIN: Well first of all, engage their air assets. In that kind of terrain, and that kind of weather, air is a -- is a decisive factor in this kind of conflict, and...
RADDATZ: A -- a decisive factor in doing what? What's -- what's...
MCCAIN: Well, we take out the air. We establish a no-fly -- no boots on the ground, no American boots on the ground...
RADDATZ: That's still a lot of risk taking out that air. In fact -- in fact the Russians have said they would move in...
MCCAIN: Well, if they move in...
RADDATZ: ...anti-aircraft, very...
MCCAIN: ...if they move in...
RADDATZ: ...sophisticated.
MCCAIN: ...if they move that in, it's going to make it more complicated, and certainly maybe gives us a little bit of skepticism about a conference. But, we can provide them with a safe zone. We can provide them a place to organize inside Syria. We can give them the heavy weapons that they need...
RADDATZ: Who's -- who's them? Who's them?
MCCAIN: ...well I -- I know them. I have met them. They're there. They...
RADDATZ: But how do you keep out good rebels, and bad rebels?
MCCAIN: Because...
RADDATZ: You've got al-Qaeda rebels, running around...
MCCAIN: Thank you. Martha, these are legitimate questions you're asking. But they are there. And you put them inside Syria, they then have a Benghazi. Then they have a place to organize, to -- to identify the right people. These Jihadists aren't -- there aren't that many of them, they're just so good. Because they've been fighting all over the Middle East for all these years, and they're not afraid to die. But we could still organize a legitimate and non-Jihadist group that are already there.
They've got a great general. They've got a fine man who is in charge of the Syrian -- Syrian National Council. Look, we can...
RADDATZ: Everybody I talk to said they just can't possibly vet all of...
MCCAIN: They -- they said they couldn't penetrate without great costs, Syrian air defenses. I -- didn't the Israelis just kind of blow a hole a mile wide in that?
RADDATZ: I'm not -- I'm not sure they went into Syria. Are you sure they went into Syria?
MCCAIN: I'm sure they -- I'm sure they took out assets of -- of Assad's in Syria, which is exactly what we could do with Cruise Missiles, and with Patriot Missiles. So, that obviously blows a hole a mile wide in our Joint Chiefs of Staff, who prove again, if you don't want to do something, they can find reasons not to do it. But look, we either -- you've got two choices. Either let this continue. As you just mentioned, Hezbollah is now all in, and the initiative is now on the side of Bashar al-Assad.
You can do that, or you can go in, and you can give them a safe zone. And you can give them the -- the weapons that they need and the help they need and stop this unconscionable slaughter. And the president by saying red line -- he gave a green light to all of this massacres. And it's a shameful chapter in American history.
RADDATZ: Thanks you for joining us this morning Senator McCain.
