I don’t think I’m revealing anything new…John McCain (R-AZ) and our 45th president have utter disdain for one another.
Fair enough?
Well, McCain secretly traveled to northern Syria last weekend to speak with American military officials, and Kurdish fighters at the forefront of the push to drive the Islamic State out of their de facto capital of Raqqa, according to The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Washington Post.
The unusual visit, which officials said was organized with the help of the U.S. military, came as the Trump administration is debating plans for an accelerated military campaign against the Islamic State.
This was believed to be his first visit to Syria since McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, first went to rebel-controlled Syria in 2013, when he met with leaders of the Free Syrian Army, the umbrella group supported by America and its allies.
McCain is believed to be the first U.S. lawmaker to travel to the Kurdish-controlled area of northeastern Syria since it became a hub for American special-operations forces who are aiding local forces in the fight against Islamic State.
After traveling to Syria, McCain met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Turkish capital. Erdogan is pushing the Trump administration to sideline the Kurdish fighters that U.S. military leaders view as a vital ally in the fight against Islamic State.
It is rare for U.S. politicians to travel to Syria. Last month, Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), secretly traveled to Damascus, where she held a controversial meeting with President Bashar al-Assad.
Trump has asked the U.S. military to present him with a new plan to destroy Islamic State, and the report is supposed to be finished by the end of the month.
Central to the debate is whether or NOT to rely on Kurdish forces to take Raqqa, a city with a Sunni majority that is likely to be wary of Kurdish control.
U.S. officials involved in the debate say that it would be difficult, if NOT impossible, to launch a successful assault on Raqqa in the coming months without working with Kurdish forces. Turkish leaders have been pushing the Trump administration to sideline the Kurdish fighters, but they have NOT presented any viable alternative plan.
This is “how” very bad things happen in the undefined military world of unintended consequences!
Lobster on the Prairie 