Senator McCain visits with Syrian rebels

Senator John McCain (R-AZ) entered Syria to meet with rebels on Monday. After arriving in the country through Turkey, McCain stayed in the country for a number of hours; he is now the highest ranking elected official of the US to stopover in Syria. The Senator met with General Salem Idris of the Supreme Military Council of the Free Syrian Army, as well as many Free Syrian Army commanders.

McCain has been fighting within Congress to give the US a greater role in ending Syria’s civil war, which has been going on for two years. During the meeting, the Syrian rebels asked the senator and the United States to give them weapons for their continued battle against the Syrian government. McCain’s visit was called “an incredibly important trip” by Mouaz Moustafa of the Syrian Emergency Task Force. “Trips like this need to happen more frequently,” he said.