John McCain: U.S. Complicit in Aleppo Deaths

The senior Senator from Arizona John McCain, published an opinion editorial in the Washington Post, in which he complains about The United States' inaction in the Syrian conflinct and the Aleppo massacres. McCain who is often described by liberals and Democrats and a "war monger', took aim squarely at the Obama administration's inaction in the conflict and the Russian and Iranian actions in it.

President Obama's most famous moment in the Syrian crisis was when he drew, then notoriously ignored, a "red line" regarding biological and chemical weapons, which if used would spark American action in the conflict, yet it never came, sparking McCain to accuse the United States of complicity in the deaths.

The words “never again” ring hollow as the city of Aleppo, Syria, has fallen to regime forces of Bashar al-Assad. A brutal siege that has ground on for years was finally brought to a bloody end by a surge of Russian airpower, Iranian shock troops and assorted regional militia fighters. As we eulogize the dead of Aleppo, we must acknowledge the United States’ complicity in this tragedy.

McCain states in the piece that all President Obama did was "bear witness" to the actions of others in a world conflict which involved Russia, Iran, and sparked the creation of ISIS.

President Obama speaks of the need to “bear witness” to injustice. He did little else for Aleppo. To what have we borne witness? To the use of smart bombs to target women and children, hospitals and bakeries, aid warehouses and humanitarian convoys. To the development and popularization of barrel bombs — oil drums packed with shrapnel and explosives, dropped indiscriminately from aircraft to kill and maim as many civilians as possible. To the tactic of follow-on airstrikes designed to kill rescue workers, such as the intrepid White Helmets, who rush to the scene of an attack to save the innocent. And now to the busloads of refugees pouring out of Aleppo and the tens of thousands left behind to the tender mercies of the Assad regime and its Russian and Iranian allies.

McCain had before states that Russia and China would "not act" when it came to Syria, that statement was given under the assumption that America would. McCain now complains that moment never came.

McCain, who may be in about to enter his last term in office and is possible "legacy shopping" ended the piece by stating:

Just because America cannot stop every horror in the world does not absolve us of the responsibility of using our great power to end the worst injustices where we can, especially when doing so would benefit our own interests and make the United States and our partners more secure. We do not need to become the world’s policeman to defend our interests. But we cannot wall ourselves off from the chaos of our dangerous world. And if we try, the instability, terror and destruction at the heart of that chaos will eventually make their way to our shores.