BEIRUT: U.S. Senator John McCain was unwittingly photographed with a known affiliate of the rebel group responsible for the kidnapping of 11 Lebanese Shiite pilgrims one year ago, during a brief and highly publicized visit inside Syria this week.
The U.S. senator became the highest-level American official to enter Syria since the uprising began. A former presidential candidate and staunch opponent of President Barack Obama’s Syria policy, he has been leading calls to better arm moderate opposition groups fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad.
During a brief visit to northern Syria from Turkey, confirmed by his office Monday, McCain met with rebel leaders calling for greater support in their fight against Assad. He was accompanied by the chief of staff of the rebel Supreme Military Council, Gen. Salim Idriss.
The pilgrims were kidnapped by armed rebels in Azaz, in Syria’s Aleppo province, in May last year as they were making their way back to Lebanon from Iran.
Two of the kidnapped, Anwar Ibrahim and Hussein Ali Omar were released in August and September but intense negotiations are still underway for the remaining nine, believed to be in the custody of the “Northern Storm” brigade, headed at the time by rebel commander Ammar Al-Dadikhi, aka Abu Ibrahim. Dadikhi was widely believed killed in fighting with Syrian regime forces several months ago. The Northern Storm Brigade also claimed responsibility for the kidnap of a Lebanese journalist in October.
No crap? Maybe he should involve the President and Congress then. Besides, this sort of crap necessitated the whole Iraq mess in the first place. If modern politicians want to play Cold War Redux, they'd better get their heads out their asses fast. What worked then, will not work now.