Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain denounced President Obama’s foreign policy strategy in a scathing floor speech Wednesday that followed the news that Russia is now conducting air strikes in Syria.
“This is a very, very, very sad day for America and the world,” said McCain, R-Ariz., a longtime critic of Obama’s foreign policy approach. “The world is watching.”
McCain has long called on Obama to take a tough approach against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has carried out barrel bomb attacks on civilians and has sparked a migrant crisis in the region.
Russia is now helping Assad fight ISIS in the region and conducted its first airstrike on Wednesday, warning U.S. military planes to avoid the region.
McCain said Russia is filling a leadership vacuum left by President Obama, who backed down from using military force against Assad even after Assad used chemical weapons to attack civilians.
“Throughout the world, an absence of American leadership is very, very visible and very understood by nations throughout the world,” McCain said. “And today, we see Vladimir Putin attacking with his airplane not just ISIS, but others who are enemies of Bashar al-Assad.”
McCain cited the recent visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping that followed revelations that the Chinese hackers had stolen information from millions of federal employees.
“The Chinese leader made some nice comments about how they would stop the hacking that they have been able to compromise our most important industrial and military secrets,” McCain said. “We’ll see if that happens.”
McCain said it is time Obama “woke up to the realities of the world and assert American leadership.”
