McCain rebukes Gen. Dempsey for policy ‘pirouettes’ on Syria

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) ripped into Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs Gen. Martin Dempsey on Thursday over the Obama administration’s
resistance to military intervention in Syria.

{mosads}In a rare public rebuke of the top U.S. military official, McCain accused him of making “pirouettes” with his position on arming
the Syrian opposition, and criticized him for not publicly stating his personal
opinion on military action in Syria.

“The situation is much more dire than two years ago when you
and [Vice Chairman] Adm. [James] Winnefeld came into office,”
McCain said to Dempsey at his confirmation hearing Thursday.

Dempsey pushed back against McCain’s accusations, warning
there were risks entailed with increased military action. He said it was
inappropriate for him to give his views on intervention while it was under
deliberation.

{mosads}“Senator, somehow you’ve got me portrayed as the one who’s
holding back for our use of military force,” Dempsey said. “The decision on
whether to use force is the decision of our elected officials.”

McCain has been a longtime and vocal critic of the
administration’s policy in Syria. He has called for the establishment of a no-fly
zone and the provision of arms to the rebels for over a year.

Dempsey, who has been re-nominated for a second two-year
term as Joint Chiefs chairman, has expressed concerns about U.S. military
action making the situation in Syria worse.

While Dempsey is a near-lock to be confirmed again, McCain has criticized
his views on Syria and said that it raises concerns about the four-star general’s
overall judgment.

McCain pointed back to Dempsey’s past statements on arming
the Syrian rebels, accusing him of supporting providing arms in February,
opposing it in April and now backing the administration’s plans to do so.

“How do we account for those pirouettes?” McCain said.

“I wouldn’t accept the term ‘pirouettes,’ sir,” Dempsey
responded. “I’d accept the term ‘we’ve adapted our approach based on what we
know of the opposition.’ You’ll recall at the beginning of the year there was a
period where I was pretty adamant that the extremist groups were prevailing
inside the opposition, so I have not been wavering.”

As McCain pressed Dempsey about the cost of U.S. inaction,
the debate between the two spiraled into a disagreement over the Iraq War.

“Senator, would you agree we have recent experience where until
we understood how a country would continue to govern and the institution of government
wouldn’t fail, that the situation can be made worse by introduction of military
force?” Dempsey said, referring to Iraq.

McCain shot back that Dempsey was wrong on Iraq, which was reminiscent
of his argument with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel during his confirmation
hearing this year.

“Actually, Gen. Dempsey, you and I went through this in 2006,
when I said it wasn’t succeeding and we had to have a surge, and only a surge
would succeed at reversing the tide of battle, and you disagreed with me way
back then,” McCain said.

“And I think history shows that those of us who supported
the surge were right, and people like you who didn’t think we needed a surge
were wrong.”

McCain concluded his questioning by trying to elicit Dempsey’s
personal opinion on military action in Syria, but Dempsey said it was inappropriate
to give it while deliberations were ongoing.

“I will let this committee know what my recommendations are
at the appropriate time,” Dempsey said.

That didn’t satisfy McCain, who said that Dempsey had agreed
to provide his views to the committee as a condition of his confirmation.

“If it is your position
that you do not provide personal views to the committee when asked — only under
certain circumstances — then you have just contradicted what I have known this
committee to operate under for the last 30 years,” McCain said.