CLANDESTINE

McCain Secretly Visited Syria Last Weekend

Met with Kurdish fighters leading the Raqqa campaign.

Sen. John McCain secretly traveled to northern Syria last weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The senator’s visit was reportedly organized with help from the U.S. military and was predominantly an effort to allow McCain to speak with American officials and Kurdish fighters leading the charge to push ISIS militants out of Raqqa, the jihadist group’s stronghold. “Mr. McCain is believed to be the first U.S. lawmaker to travel to the Kurdish-controlled area of northeastern Syria since it became a hub for American special-operations forces who are aiding local forces in the fight against Islamic State,” the Journal noted. It is believed that McCain last visited Syria in 2013 when he met with the Free Syrian Army, another rebel group supported by the United States.