During a Senate tour through Israel, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, Arizona Senator John McCain stressed the need for international ground forces in the fight to free the Syrian town of Kobane from ISIL control. The senator said bombing campaigns are not working fast enough.
“For month’s we’ve been bombing Kobane and we still haven’t driven ISIS out,” McCain told reporters in Jerusalem. “The reality is, we need more boots on the ground…we need intelligence, we need special forces, and we can’t treat Iraq and Syria as different battlegrounds because it’s the same enemy.”
The senator also spoke of the necessity of a no-fly zone in the region.
“We are going to have to have an aircraft exclusionary zone which provides a buffer in order for us to not only train and equip [rebels], but to take care of refugees,” he said.
Kobane, a town on the Syria-Turkey border, has been a contentious spot for months, as ISIL militants have battled Kurdish rebels for control. With the aid of coalition air strikes, the rebels have slowly gained territory.
After over a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Obama has repeatedly stated his refusal to engage U.S. forces in another Middle Eastern military campaign, especially in the complex Syrian civil war.
“As your commander in chief, I will not commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in Iraq,” the President said in September. “After a decade of massive ground deployment it is more effect to use our unique capabilities in support of partners on the ground so they can secure their own countries’ futures”.
Yesterday, Kurdish fighters captured Mishtenur hill, a strategic position overlooking ISIL supply routes, in Kobane.
