Veteran US senator calls for aerial attacks against Syria

Veteran US Senator and the previous Republican presidential nominee John McCain has called on the American government to conduct piloted airstrikes against Syria. “Providing military assistance to the Free Syrian Army and other opposition groups is necessary. The only realistic way to do so is with foreign air power,” said McCain in an address at the United States Senate. He emphasized, however, that any such effort must include the participation of other nations, particularly a number of US-backed Arab kingdoms in the Middle East. “We should seek the active involvement of key Arab partners, such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar and willing allies in the European Union, NATO and Turkey,” the US senator added. The Arizona Senator, a former combat pilot shot down and captured during the Vietnam War, also claimed that any such effort would require taking out Syria’s air-defense systems. "We're the only ones who can do that," he boasted. Syria has been experiencing what appears to be a foreign-sponsored unrest since mid-March 2011. The US, the Israeli regime and a number of their European and Arab allies have been leading a major effort to destabilize and overthrow the government of President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.