By JOHN T. BENNETT
Sep. 30, 2014
Despite criticism from some on Capitol Hill, the administration has expressed support for Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey. (Staff Sgt. Sean K. Harp / Army)
WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama is standing by his top military adviser amid sharp criticism from a prominent Republican senator.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey ruffled feathers on Capitol Hill earlier this month when he suggested, if circumstances warranted, he would advise Obama to send US ground troops to Iraq to fight the Islamic State (IS) group.
He also agitated some lawmakers by endorsing the White House’s plan to train and arm some Syrian rebels in Saudi Arabia to take on the violent Islamic group back home.
Some members from both parties are expressing frustration that the White House and Pentagon are finally ready to arm those opposition forces — after lawmakers called for just such a move for several years during that country’s bloody civil war.
Former Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was particularly perturbed that Dempsey told a Senate panel that Obama’s plan to use the rebels to fight IS inside Syria did not include strikes against Bashar al-Assad’s air defense systems.
“He might have credibility with some,” McCain told reporters just before a seven-week congressional recess began, “but that’s not with me.”
McCain for years has been a top critic of Obama and his approach to foreign policy and national security issues and crises. He and other GOP lawmakers are skeptical that Obama’s plan to counter the Islamic State goes far enough.
The veteran senator said, when pressed, that he has been frustrated by past advise Dempsey has given the commander in chief.
The White House is standing by Dempsey.
“The president has full confidence in Gen. Dempsey and he will continue to rely on the chairman’s independent military advice,” Caitlin Hayden, a White House National Security Council spokeswoman, told CongressWatch on Tuesday.
McCain’s opinion of senior military leaders could become much more important if Republicans win control of the Senate in November. That’s because he likely would become chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which oversees Pentagon policy, budgeting and senior-level nominations.
CongressWatch asked McCain if, as chairman, he would press Obama to replace Dempsey before his second — and final — term as Joint Chiefs chairman ends.
“No,” McCain responded. “That’s up to the president. And the president chooses his team.” ■
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