McCain calls for Syrian airstrikes

WASHINGTON, March 5 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. John McCain says the United States must launch airstrikes against Syrian forces to put an end to the butchering of civilians.

McCain, in a speech Monday on the Senate floor, said "time is running out" in Syria. "[President Bashar] Assad's forces are on the march. Providing military assistance to the Free Syrian Army and other opposition groups is necessary, but at this late hour, that alone will not be sufficient to stop the slaughter and save innocent lives," he said.

"The only realistic way to do so is with foreign air power."

McCain said airstrikes on Assad's forces would help key population centers in Syria, especially in the north.

"Despite a year's worth of diplomacy backed by sanctions, Assad and his top lieutenants show no signs of giving up and taking the path into foreign exile. To the contrary, they appear to accelerating their fight to the finish. And they are doing so with the shameless support of foreign governments, especially in Russia, China and Iran," he said.

The Arizona Republican said opposition groups in Syria urgently need relief from Assad's tank and artillery sieges in cities that are still contested. He said any potential influence with the regime that replaces Assad will be lost if the people of Syria feel the United States has abandoned them.

"President Obama must state unequivocally that under no circumstances will Assad be allowed to finish what he has started, that there is no future in which Assad and his lieutenants will remain in control of Syria, and that the United States is prepared to use the full weight of our air power to make it so," he said.