John McCain in Syria

At the age of 76, John McCain went to Syria on Monday. He took advantage of his week’s vacation from the Senate to go see for himself the land on the other side of the Turkish border. He was greeted by General Salim Idris, whom the Americans consider to be the most respectable of their opponents, even though some distrust him in light of disappointment experienced with Maliki or Morsi (who were trained by the U.S.).

The senator is the most eloquent voice in favor of a more decisive intervention against Assad, not only with “boots on the ground” but also in the form of targeted aid. “We could, for example, organize an overt and large-scale operation to train and arm well-vetted Syrian opposition forces,” he said on May 9 in a floor statement before the Senate. “We could use our precision strike capabilities to target Assad’s aircraft and SCUD missile launchers on the ground without our pilots having to fly into the teeth of Syria’s air defenses. Similar weapons could be used to selectively destroy artillery pieces and make Assad’s forces think twice about remaining at their posts. We could also use Patriot missile batteries outside of Syria to help protect safe zones inside of Syria from Assad’s aerial bombing and missile attacks.”

For John McCain, these actions will not end the conflict, but they will give the moderate opposition a better chance of succeeding at marginalizing the jihadists. “The longer we wait, the worse the situation gets, and the tougher it will be to confront, as we will inevitably be forced to do sooner or later.”

The pressure is slowly mounting on Obama to become more engaged. On May 21, the Foreign Affairs Committee passed a bill supporting the transition in Syria (“The Syria Transition Support Act of 2013”). For the first time, lawmakers have approved direct military aid to groups who will be carefully chosen for their commitment to democratic principles. The text specifies that it does not authorize military intervention. And if it promises to release $250 million for a “transition fund,” it is an amount that had been budgeted elsewhere.

While failing to do so itself, the Obama administration has a tendency to encourage Europeans to lift their embargos on arms sales to the opposition. This is what Bill Burns, second in command at the State Department, alluded to when he came together with ambassadors from the 27 countries in the European Union.

The delivery of weapons is one of the conditions set by General Salim Idris in order to participate in the Geneva conference. In a telephone interview with David Ignatius of The Washington Post, he said he wants to achieve a “military balance” with government forces before negotiating. He demands anti-tank equipment and anti-aircraft missiles, but especially needs ammunition. The advantage of giving them ammunition: It’s used immediately. There is less of a chance that it will be used against the West in the future (the great fear of Americans), as opposed to missile launchers.