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                       McCain: Russia 'Winning' in Syria

   by Chris Hannas

   U.S. Senator John McCain criticized the response of President Barack
   Obama's administration to Russian military action in Syria, saying
   "everybody knows that Russia is winning."

   McCain, who has long promoted deploying U.S. ground forces to fight
   Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, told Alhurra TV that Russia
   has established itself and become "the dominant player."

   "They have for the first time since 1973 played a major role in the
   Middle East, and they're achieving all of their objectives while we sit
   by and call it a quagmire or in the words of the secretary of defense,
   unprofessional," McCain said.  "It has become almost a joke."

   Obama authorized an aerial campaign against the Islamic State that has
   included more than 2,600 airstrikes in Syria and 4,600 in Iraq, but the
   bombings have had limited success and he has so far ruled out sending
   American ground troops.

   McCain said it is "obvious" Russia is targeting moderate opposition
   fighters and not the Islamic State with its own airstrikes that began
   last week, and criticized as "outrageously immoral" the failure of the
   U.S. to protect the Syrian rebels it has trained and equipped.

   ''

   He also called Russian violations of Turkey's airspace "very
   concerning," and equated talks between the U.S. and Russia to
   coordinate activities to appeasement.

   "We should say to the Russians we are going to fly anywhere we want to
   at any time and you better not get in the way," McCain said.

   Russia-Turkey relations

   A spokesman for Russia's Defense Ministry said Tuesday that Turkey's
   Defense Ministry had proposed establishing a joint working group to
   coordinate and prevent possible incidents related to Russian airstrikes
   in Syria.

   Turkey reported two violations of its airspace by Russian jets, one
   Saturday and another Sunday, and twice summoned Russia's ambassador to
   lodge its complaints.  Russian officials have said the incursions
   happened by mistake.

   In light of those incidents, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday
   questioned future relations between the two countries

   "Some steps that we do not desire are being taken. It is not suitable
   for Turkey to accept them," Erdogan said during a news conference with
   Belgium's prime minister in Brussels.

   Western allies have criticized Russia's overall involvement in Syria
   and raised additional questions about its warplanes crossing into
   Turkish territory.  NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told
   reporters Tuesday that the violations do not look like an accident.

   "I will not speculate on the motives, I would just reiterate or restate
   that this is a serious violation of Turkish airspace, it should not
   happen again, and NATO has expressed strong solidarity with Turkey,"
   Stoltenberg said.

   Marcin Zaborowski, executive vice president of the Center for European
   Policy Analysis, told VOA's Persian service that Russia is trying to
   test NATO's limits by violating Turkish airspace. "It does seem so,
   that Russia is taking such steps, while Turkey is trying to stay away
   from the Russia-West tensions," he said.

   ''

   Russian 'volunteers' in Syria

   On Monday, a top Russian lawmaker said "a unit of Russian volunteers"
   may join Syrian government troops fighting Islamic State extremists on
   the ground. The lawmaker's remarks came in response to unconfirmed
   media reports that Russian volunteers already have been spotted
   fighting alongside the Syrian army.

   U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Tuesday did not confirm to
   reporters the involvement of Russian ground forces, but sharply
   criticized the idea. Calling the strategy "futile," he said Moscow
   would be "deepening their mistake in Syria" if it's true.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/mccain-russia-winning-in-syria/299481
   8.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/mccain-russia-winning-in-syria/2994818.html