Grounding the Syrian air force (from operating in its own sovereign country),

Creating safe zones for Syrian civilians (aka Saudi/Turkey Wahhabi trained terrorists),

And arming the opposition (aka Al Qaeda / Al Nusra / ISIS).

"As bad as this conflict is now, it can get much worse — and likely will."



"It will produce millions more refugees, undermining regional stability and straining the social fabric of Western nations. It will strengthen an anti-American alliance of Russia and Iran. US credibility with our closest security partners in the Middle East will further erode. And it will provide ISIS, or its successor groups, fertile ground to radicalize Muslims, recruit and inspire them to fight, and provide them with dangerous battlefield experience."



"This is where the conflict in Syria is headed, and the administration still has no strategy to do anything about it. Its diplomacy is toothless. And there appears to be no Plan B."



"The administration likes to pretend that Congress is not prepared to support a more forceful approach because of its lack of support for military action to enforce President Obama's red line in 2013."



"This is a myth. What many in Congress opposed was granting a reluctant president authority to conduct what Secretary of State John Kerry promised would be 'unbelievably small' airstrikes in the absence of a broader strategy to achieve US national interests in Syria. The US needs that broader strategy now."



"Any alternative approach must begin with grounding Mr. Assad's air power. It is a strategic advantage that enables the Assad regime to perpetuate the conflict through the wanton slaughter of innocent Syrians. The US and its coalition partners must issue an ultimatum to Mr. Assad — stop flying or lose your aircraft — and be prepared to follow through. If Russia continues its indiscriminate bombing, we should make clear that we will take steps to hold its aircraft at greater risk. And we must create safe zones for Syrian civilians and do what is necessary to protect them against violations by Mr. Assad, Mr. Putin and extremist forces."

In an editorial for The Wall Street Journal entitled, "Stop Assad Now—Or Expect Years of War" the ultimate US war hawk, John McCain, lays out his plan to help his ISIS and Al Qaeda partners in Syria, with a recipe consisting of...John McCain is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. John McCain also has a talent for showing up in countries right before regime change war breaks out. He did it in Ukraine and he did it in Syria.Before considering McCain's plea for aiding the "moderate rebels" as some sort of "war hero's" attempt to bring democracy to a Syria under the rule of an evil dictator, take a look at the company McCain keeps..."A picture is worth a thousand words" and "the company you keep" are two phrases that come to mind...Below are some main points from McCain's editorial in the WSJ...The US senator supports more weapons and cash to "moderate rebels" (aka Al Qaeda/ISIS..see photos above) fighting Assad in Syria, noting that it's the "only way to isolate and target extremists on the battlefield."McCain concluded that if left as it is, the conflict in Syria will