McCain in the Hole for the Second Time

Kerry returned to the Middle East amid a rift in his administration. He plans on stopping in a small city in Syria where military operations have ripped through the land as a result of U.S. policies. The Syrian Arab Army has suspended the use of mines while Kerry attempts to carry out his deluded and hypocritical objectives.

The U.S. secretary of state, who went east to attend and support recent political demonstrations in Jordan, Cairo and Istanbul, has wasted time and lost credibility in a disappointing week spent among American and Arab allies warning of Russia’s lack of cooperation.

Kerry has also wasted time and effort on his eastern trip to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov. America will not profit politically from the visit. Rather, it would be no exaggeration to say that the head diplomat, who held a seat of honor at the haphazardly arranged Geneva conference , will return little more than empty-handed. Polarizing and mixed statements stirred the political atmosphere as the Jordanian and Saudi royal families begged the United States for more time and aid. U.S. Senator John McCain, under pressure from the Syrian bloodshed and the actions of Kerry and his Russian counterpart, has violated all international norms and, in the American habit of repudiating terrorist groups, has vowed to mount an international effort to support the insurgents in Syria and the imposition of another no-fly zone.

Though McCain would have Obama invade and fight under the banner of anti-terrorism, he would actually be supporting the real terrorists. McCain spoke in these terms to Obama a few days ago and revealed a U.S. spending bill to pursue al-Qaida, one of the groups on the front lines in Syria with the insurgents, whom he does not label as terrorists.

McCain’s falling upon illogical support of the insurgents rather than searching for a political solution may be muscle flexing, as is Kerry’s meeting with Lavrov to develop guidelines for the international conference on Syria.

The Americans’ initiatives in the region may have become short-sighted. McCain has demonstrated this as he finds himself in a hole, caught between the ambiguous area of declaring threats and actually carrying them out. McCain would knowingly put the Syrian Arab Army mercenaries and conspirators, along with their plans, illusions and international prestige, in that same hole, while the fate of the remaining population of Syria rests in the hands of those in Geneva.