Levin sides with McCain on tough U.S. measures in Syria

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin made a big move today in regard to his views on dealing with the Syrian civil war, siding with Sen. John McCain in calling for more aggressive steps, including precision air strikes, by the U.S. to force Bashar al-Assad out of power.

In a letter to President Obama from Levin and McCain, the senior Republican on the committee, they wrote: “We believe there are credible options at your disposal, including limited military options, that would require neither putting U.S. troops on the ground nor acting unilaterally.”

In the letter to Obama, they identified several options that would “ease the suffering of the Syrian people and protect U.S. national security interests.”

In a bipartisan manner Levin, a Detroit Democrat, and McCain, an Arizona Republican, say that they believe the unconfirmed reports that Assad’s regime has used chemical weapons on the rebels.

Here are excepts from the letter:

“While we are particularly disturbed by reports that chemical weapons have been used in Syria, the larger tragedy is that more than 70,000 people have already been killed in Syria. More than 1 million Syrians are living as refugees. The Syrian state is disintegrating. In short, the longer the conflict in Syria goes on, the worse its consequences are becoming. The potential use of chemical weapons only makes the case for greater action more compelling and urgent.

“… We urge you to take the following steps:

“First, we urge you to lead an effort, together with our friends and allies, to degrade the Assad regime’s airpower and to support Turkey if they are willing to establish a safe zone inside of Syria’s northern border.

“… Second, Gen. James Mattis, the commander of U.S. Central Command, testified last week to the Senate Armed Services Committee that ‘a fair amount’ of Assad’s aircraft could be destroyed on the ground using precision airstrikes. Such a mission could also include Assad’s SCUD missile batteries and would not require American or allied pilots to fly into the reach of Syria’s air defenses.

“… Finally, we urge you to provide more robust assistance directly to vetted opposition groups. We believe such assistance should include tactical intelligence and increased deliveries of food and medicine, fuel, communications equipment, medical care for the wounded, and other humanitarian assistance. To this end, establishing a safe haven inside Syria would also serve the important goal of delivering humanitarian assistance more effectively.”