Senator John McCain Republican Party’s leading voice  on foreign affairs and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee  says the civil war in Syria and the flow of migrants into Europe constitute one of the most serious crises the West has faced in the last 70 years.
He said Europe’s migrant crisis is a direct result of what he called the “failure” of U.S. policy in the Middle East.
“The United States’ failure in Syria and Iraq has had a significant impact on the cause of the flow of refugees,” he said. “If the United States had gotten rid of Bashar al-Assad and kept Iraq under control, we wouldn’t be experiencing the refugee crisis that we are today.”
Sen.McCain said he agreed with NATO’s supreme military commander, General Philip Breedlove, who told the Armed Services Committee this month that Russia and the Assad government were “deliberately weaponizing migration in an attempt to overwhelm European structures and break European resolve.” Russia’s air force began bombing Syrian rebels last September on behalf of the Assad government.
“The United States of America, by our failure to lead, allowed Russia into a position of influence, at least for the first time since 1973, when [then Egyptian President] Anwar Sadat threw the Russians out of Egypt,” McCain said.
“So the predominant influence now in Syria is Russia, Hezbollah, Iran, “. He added” This is one of the most serious crises that Europe and the United States have seen since the end of World War II.”
About the crisis in Ukraine, McCain said the Ukrainian government had not taken sufficient steps to crack down on endemic corruption, and that this was contributing to political instability.
“There has not been the elimination or even strong efforts to eliminate corruption, which is making the people very dissatisfied,” the senator said.
Still, McCain said it was “shameful” that the United States has not given Ukrainians “even weapons with which to defend themselves,” while Russian President Vladimir Putin “continues to ratchet up” pressure on eastern Ukraine.
According to the U.N., more than 9,000 people have been killed and more than 20,000 wounded since Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine began fighting the central government in early 2014.

Source: NEWS AGENCIES, 10 March 2016