Sen. Tim Kaine (D., Va.) expressed frustration Tuesday afternoon at a lack of progress in formulating a strategy to deal with the crisis in Syria that has displaced millions and led to Russian airstrikes backing Bashar al-Assad, further complicating the turmoil in the region.
"I think is a huge problem. I condemn the activities of Russia, propping up a horrible dictator, Bashar al-Assad, apparently targeting the U.S.’s trained anti-[Islamic State] fighters, violating Turkish airspace," Kaine said. "I condemn Russia, but this definitely shows the U.S. doesn't have a policy for what's going on in Syria other than writing a check to support humanitarian aid."
In September, the top American commander in the Middle East informed the Senate Armed Services Committee that only four or five Syrian rebels trained by the U.S. military remain on the battlefield after spending $500 million on the program. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III said the Pentagon would not be able to reach its stated goal of training 5,000 moderate Syrian forces to combat the Islamic State anytime soon.
Kaine argued that without an authorization to use military force, the U.S. would not have the proper guidelines from which to act.
"We don't have a policy in this military theater against [the Islamic State] in Syria because Congress has refused to debate it and authorize it. The president began this campaign 14 months ago. He finally sent a proposed authorization to Congress in February, eight months ago," Kaine said. "There has been virtually nothing that's been done in Congress to engage and decide what our strategy is and until that's done, you are going to see one more gruesome atrocity after the next and you are going to see one more strategic catastrophe after the next, as is this recent news about Russian involvement.
Officials within the Obama administration have said they are perplexed by Putin’s maneuvers in Syria and said they were caught off guard by his aggressive tactics.