John McCain: US Missile Strike Was A Signal To Vladimir Putin As Well As Bashar al-Assad

>>> 8:16. BACK WITH MORE ON THE U.S.
STRIKE ON SYRIA. REPUBLICAN SENATOR JOHN McCAIN
WAS QUICK TO EXPRESS HIS SUPPORT.
HE JOINS US, NOW, FROM CAPITOL HILL.
SENATOR, NICE TO SEE YOU. GOOD MORNING.
>> GOOD MORNING. HOW ARE YOU?
SAVANNAH, IT'S GETTING HOT IN TUCSON.
>> IT IS, INDEED, SIR. >> WE'RE HEARING WORDS, SENATOR,
FROM ONE-OFF. LIMITED.
REASONABLE.
RATIONAL. WAS THIS THE RIGHT STRIKE IN
YOUR OPINION AT THE RIGHT TIME? >> I WOULDN'T EMPHASIZE TOO MUCH
ONE-OFF HERE. IT DEPENDS ON THE REACTION OF
THE SSYRIANS, INCLUDING THE RUSSIANS.
A LOT OF THESE THINGS HAS TO STOP.
THE BARREL BOMBING HAS TO STOP. THE SLAUGHTER HAS GOT TO STOP.
AND WE HAVE WORK TO DO. ESTABLISHING A SAFE ZONE AND
ARMING A FREE SYRIAN ARMY. THIS IS THE BEGINNING, MATT.
THERE'S A LITTLE TOO MUCH EUPHORIA THIS MORNING.
I THINK IT'S A RIGHT THING TO DO.
IT'S A SIGNAL THAT THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES IS
LISTENING TO THE BEST NATIONAL SECURITY TEAM I'VE SEEN.
BUT WE HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO. >> I'M INTERESTED TO HEAR YOU
SAY THAT. THE LINE HAS BEEN CHEMICAL
WEAPONS. ASSAD USES CHEMICAL WEAPONS.
THAT'S THE LINE THAT CAN'T BE CROSSED.
AS WE DISCUSSED AND YOU'RE ALLUDING TO, HE'S KILLED
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF HIS OWN PEOPLE WITH CONVENTIONAL
WEAPONS. AND WHY IS THAT ANY BETTER?
WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT THAT?
>> I THINK WE HAVE TO SAY THAT THE BARREL BOMBING HAS TO STOP.
YOU'RE RIGHT. OF ALL THE 400,000 THAT HAVE
BEEN KILLED, A SMALL PERCENTAGE. BUT IT'S SYMBOLIC THE USE OF
CHEMICAL WEAPONS. THERE'S NO DOUBT IN ANYBODY'S
MIND, THAT A HORRENDOUS USE OF THIS WEAPON IS IN VIOLATION OF
EVERY NORM, EVERY INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THAT STOP.
BUT AS I SAID, WE'VE GOT A LOT MORE WORK TO DO TO STOP THE
SLAUGHTER THAT HAS DRIVEN EUROPE INTO CHAOS.
A FLOOD OF REFUGEES AN ONE OF THE GREAT HUMANITARIAN CRISES OF
THE LAST -- SINCE WORLD WAR II. >> WE KNOW THAT SYRIA IS AT THIS
POINT A CLIENT STATE OF RUSSIA. THAT PUTIN IS PULLING THE
STRINGS WITH ASSAD. OUR SECRETARY OF STATE, REX
TILLERSON," WILL SIT DOWN WITH PUTIN NEXT WEEK.
WHAT SHOULD BE THE MESSAGE TO MOSCOW?
AND DO YOU HAVE THE FEELING THAT THISTHIS ADMINISTRATION IS READ
GET TOUGH FOR PUTIN? >> I THINK IT WAS NOT JUST FOR
BASHAR AL ASSAD. IT WAS ALSO FOR PUTIN.
A LOT OF WORK NEEDS TO BE DONE, THAT COULDN'T BE ACCOMPLISHED
WITHOUT THIS BEGINNING. BUT IT IS ONLY THENEEDS TO SAY
ACCEPTABLE FOR YOU TO SUPPORT AND PROP UP A REGIME THAT USES
CHEMICAL WEAPONS, PERIOD. WE FIND THAT UNACCEPTABLE.
AND WE'RE GOING TO TAKE ACTIONS, UNDESCRIBED ACTIONS, TO PREVENT
THIS KIND OF ACTIVITY FROM CONTINUING.
AND IT HAS TO BE A STRONG MESSAGE BECAUSE VLADIMIR PUTIN
BELIEVES THAT WE ARE WEAK. AND SO, I THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE
THAT SECRETARY OF STATE TILLERSON MAKE HIS TRIP AT THIS
TIME. I THINK IT'S ALSO APPROPRIATE
THAT THE CHINESE LEADER HAPPENED TO BE HERE AT THAT TIME, AS
WELL. >> YOU SEGUE PERFECTLY INTO MY
QUESTION. OBVIOUSLY, THE MEETINGS BETWEEN
PRESIDENT TRUMP AND THE CHINESE LEADER -- THE CHINESE LEADER,
THE KEY PERSON IN THE WORLD FOR HELPING US DEAL WITH NORTH
KOREA.REA. SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE
REACTION OF KIM JONG-UN AS HE'S SITTING IN NORTH KOREA, WATCHING
THE RESULTS OF WHAT HAPPENED IN SYRIA LAST NIGHT?
>> I THINK WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT REVERBERATES AROUND THE
GLOBE, TO EVERY TERRORIST ORGANIZATION, THAT THERE IS.
AND THERE'S LOTS OF THEM. ALSO, TO KIM JONG-UN.
HE'S A LITTLE LESS COMFORTABLE BECAUSE WE HAVE SHOWN THAT THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, WILL MAKE
USE OF OUR MILITARY POWER, WHICH IS STILL THE STRONGEST ON EARTH.
AND WE HAVE TO EMPHASIZE TO THE CHINESE THAT WE UNDERSTAND THEY
CAN ONLY -- ONLY THEY CAN CONTROL NORTH KOREA.
AND IF THEY DON'T, THEN IT'S GOING TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON OUR
RELATIONSHIP, ESPECIALLY ECONOMICALLY.
SO, HOPEFULLY KIM JONG-UN GOT THE MESSAGE LAST NIGHT.
AND ALSO, THE CHINESE PRESIDENT WHO HAPPENED TO BE SITTING AT
DINNER, WHILE THIS WAS TAKING PLACE, ALSO GOT THE MESSAGE.
THE UNITED STATES IS NOT AN AGGRESSIVE NATION.
BUT THERE'S CERTAIN THREATS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA THAT WE
WOULD HAVE TO RESPOND TO AND AT BEST PREVENT.
>> SENATOR McCAIN, QUICKLY, BEFORE WE LET YOU GO.
IS THERE ANY QUESTION IN YOUR MIND THAT BASHAR AL ASSAD WAS
TRYING TO TEST THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION BY LAUNCHING THIS
ATTACK EARLIER THIS WEEK? AND HOW DO YOU THINK PRESIDENT
TRUMP RESPONDED TO THAT TEST? >> I THINK IT WAS A TEST.
TRADITIONALLY, YOU CAN GO BACK TO JACK KENNEDY AND THE BAY OF
PIGS AND THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS.
MOST EVERY PRESIDENT HAS BEEN TESTED BY ADVERSARIES.
AND I BELIEVE THAT PUTIN MAY TEST US IN UKRAINE.
I THINK THE PRESIDENT RESPONDED WELL.
I THINK MOST IMPORTANTLY, TO ME, AND THIS IS VERY -- MOST
IMPORTANTLY TO ME, IS IT THE PRESIDENT PUT HIS TRUST IN THE
ADVICE AND COUNSEL OF THE

John McCain: US Missile Strike Was A Signal To Vladimir Putin As Well As Bashar al-Assad | TODAY

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