Russia of attacks

McCain accuses Russia of attacking CIA-backed Syrian rebels

Russia steps up airstrikes on Thursday and admits that its targets go beyond Islamic State

By Eliza Collins

Russia on Thursday escalated its military engagement in Syria, with warplanes carrying out a second day of heavy airstrikes in the wartorn country, as U.S. critics hurled fresh accusations at Vladimir Putin's intentions in the region.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, said that Russia is not focused on bombing Islamic State targets, and accused the country of targeting CIA-backed rebels seeking to topple Moscow's ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad.

“It’s interesting their initial strikes were against the individual and the groups that have been funded and trained by our CIA," said McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, on CNN's "New Day" on Thursday morning. The hawkish senator said he can confirm Russia's targets because of communications with people over there.

Russia on Thursday acknowledged that its airstrikes in Syria are not just targeting Islamic State, according to the Associated Press quoting a spokesman for the Russian president, who said the attacks were also focused on a "list" of other groups. But Russia has pushed back against the assertion that its actions are designed to bolster Assad's regime.

"These organizations are well known and the targets are chosen in coordination with the armed forces of Syria," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, without offering specific names.

Russia's swift and aggressive military foray in the area has been a slap in the face of President Barack Obama, who had his first bilateral meeting with Putin on Monday in more than two years. The two had a series of frosty exchanges at the United Nations, but agreed on a mutual mission to fight Islamic State forces that have proliferated across the Middle East.

That tense agreement quickly gave way to all-out chaos.

Russia appeared to take U.S. leaders by surprise when it initiated airstrikes on Thursday. A few hours after the warplanes started flying, even as U.S. officials were still collecting intelligence, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter lashed out at Russia for escalating the conflict, saying its actions were equivalent to “pouring gasoline on a fire.”

Pentagon officials also complained that Moscow had ignored its own appeal to Washington to open military-to-military channels in order to “de-conflict” Russian units and American aircraft targeting the Islamic State in both Syria and Iraq.

The only notice given was an hour before by a Russian officer to the U.S. Embassy in neighboring Iraq.

And as the airstrikes escalate, there is growing concern that the U.S., Britain and France are essentially flying uncoordinated combat missions in the same region, a potentially combustible situation. In an attempt to minimize the risk of conflict in the skies, U.S. and Russia officials agreed to meet as soon as Thursday to talk about avoiding unintended confrontations and clarifying Russia's targets.

Putin spokesman Peskov said Thursday that Russia had carried out 20 airstrikes against ISIL and other “well-known” extremist groups, and the targets are in-coordination with the Syrian army. Iran's Foreign Ministry said it supports Russia's involvement.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran considers military action by Russia against armed terrorist groups to be a step toward fighting terrorism and toward resolving the current crisis," said a spokeswoman.

The conflict is also reverberating on the campaign trail, with much of the heat directed toward Obama.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, speaking with Fox News' Megyn Kelly Wednesday night, said that Russia's action was "quite predictable" and said the sudden move made the United States "look like a junior partner under Barack Obama."

"It had already been reported in the media that the Russians were positioning air assets and in Syria," Rubio said. "This is not about ISIS. This is about propping up Assad, who is a client state of both Iran and Vladimir Putin."

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said on Thursday morning that it's not worth sitting with Putin, as Obama did, if Russia's objective is to prop up the current regime.

"I think its okay to talk to people who are your adversaries,but you've got to do it from a place of strength not weakness," he said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

Fellow Republican contender Donald Trump said that while bombing ISIL was the No. 1 goal, the U.S. needed to be careful when dealing with Assad's opponents.

“We’re fighting for rebels that we have no idea who they are … They’re probably going to be worse than what you have in right now," Trump said on Fox & Friends Thursday. "I don’t think we should act so fast. We can just slow it down a little bit. Let's see what happens."