During hearings yesterday to reconfirm Gen. Martin Dempsey as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Sen. John McCain pushed Dempsey to find out where he stands on Syria. McCain noted that Dempsey supported arming the Syrian rebels in February and then changed his mind in April. “How do we account for those pirouettes?” McCain asked.
If McCain seems to have been unduly harsh to a military official who does not set White House policy but only implements one aspect of it, it’s worth keeping the larger context in mind. It was just last month the administration embarrassed McCain on the Senate floor when, based on conversations with administration officials who told him the White House had decided to arm the rebels, the senator commended the president for his decision. Only minutes later, McCain was compelled to walk his comments back after another administration official informed him that no such decision had been made.
