Sen. McCain to Assad: US Won’t Wait Forever
As part of its coverage of current events unfolding in Syria, Alhurra Television’s Congressional Correspondent Rana Abtar interviewed Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to discuss the Russian proposal on Syria’s chemical weapons and the U.S. support of the Free Syrian Army. The Arizona Senator also had a message for Syria’s President Bashar Assad.
“I would say to the Syrian president, ‘You are in a pretty good shape right now, but I believe that we will over time support the Free Syrian Army and stop this massacre because the United States will not stand by forever, and for you to continue to stay where you are is an affront to everything that America and the world stands for and believes in.’”
When asked about the Russian proposal for Syria to place its chemical weapons under international control, Sen. McCain said, “The proposal has been made. And if it is rejected out of hand without some serious consideration, then we will have not exhausted every possible avenue, so in a very strange way, it could possibly help the president if it turns out to be, as I am reasonably confident that it will not be, a serious offer on the part of the Russians.”
In reference to arming the Free Syrian Army, McCain stated, “I do know that not one weapon, at least until a few days ago, had left the United States of America and got in the hands of the Free Syrian Army. There have been other countries that provided it, thank God, but meanwhile a planeload after a planeload is coming from Iran and from Russia with weapons and with five thousand Hizbollah [fighters] on the ground and Iranian revolutionary guard is outrageous, it is disgraceful. So, it is a shameful chapter in the American history we did not help the Free Syrian Army.”