4 April 2017, 01:24 GMT
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The recruitment of Syrian rebels by the US-led coalition has been a mistake that only strengthened Daesh, US Senator Rand Paul said in an interview on Wednesday.
"We have actually allowed this situation. By pushing [Syrian President Bashar] Assad back and being a part of that, we allowed a vacuum to let ISIS [Daesh] fill that, that's been a mistake," Paul told Fox News.
Senator John McCain repeatedly called for the United States to support the Syrian rebel groups. Paul dismissed the idea, arguing that they are comprised of radical Islamists, hostile to the United States and its allies.
Paul condemned the reported attacks in the Syrian city of Idlib, referring to the images from the scene as "grotesque.
