WASHINGTON -- Russian intervention in Syria this week is "a near catastrophe for U.S. foreign policy in the region, and really, around the world," U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said Thursday.
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United States officials have condemned airstrikes Wednesday and Thursday by Russian warplanes as targeting fighters in Syria who oppose Syrian President Bashar Assad, a Russian ally. Russian officials have said the strikes targeted sites held by the Islamic State.
Members of Congress have offered differing opinions on how the United States should react to Russian intervention.
Cotton's comments came during a breakfast event on military training and readiness sponsored by Real Clear Politics and defense contractor Raytheon.
Cotton said that for nearly 50 years the United States' position has been that Russia will not play a role as a power broker in the Middle East
"We have largely achieved that policy until the last month," Cotton said. "Of all the bad days that we've seen for America's interests over the last six years and nine months under Barack Obama's foreign policy, maybe [Wednesday] is the worst going forward for the future."
Cotton said Putin's objectives in the region should be clear to American officials who seem surprised by Russia's rapid moves to build up its forces in Syria.
"It's pretty simple if you establish the base line, which is that Russia is an enemy and Vladimir Putin is a KGB spy who sees the world in zero-sum terms," Cotton said.
In the short term, the Russian leader appears to want to prop up Assad and maintain access to a nearby Russian naval base; in the midterm, he wants to embarrass America and keep someone in power in Syria who will protect his country's interests, Cotton said. In the long term, Putin wants to divide the European Union and NATO, he said.
Cotton took to the Senate floor later Thursday to say that the United States needs to draw a red line on Russia's intervention that includes establishing no-fly zones in Syria and making "it clear that any aircraft that enters those zones will be shot down." He also said the United States should arm Ukrainians and move U.S. troops into Estonia and Latvia.
Other members of Arkansas' all-Republican delegation shared similar concerns Thursday.
Sen. John Boozman wants the Obama administration to develop a realistic strategy for moving forward, his staff said.
Rep. Steve Womack said the United States needs to gather reliable information before it acts.
"Until that time, I will be carefully monitoring the situation because as a nation we cannot afford to ignore Russia's continued boldness," he said in a statement.
Several Democratic members of Congress sought to work with the Kremlin.
Senate Intelligence ranking member Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., urged "cooperation" with Moscow in the fight.
"The key is to defeat ISIS, and then there can be an election in Syria and the chips fall where they may," she told the Washington Post, using an acronym for the Islamic State. "There is no immediate, obvious successor to Bashar al-Assad."
On Tuesday, Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., and 54 other House members sent a letter to Obama asking for the United States to work with other countries, including Iran and Russia, to end the conflict in Syria.
"The situation worsens day to day and shows no sign of improving," he wrote. "Convening international negotiations to end the Syria conflict would be in the best interests of US and global security, and is also, more importantly, a moral imperative."
A Section on 10/02/2015