McCain Travels to Syria to Meet With Rebel Forces

WASHINGTON â€" Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican who has called vocally for the United States to intervene militarily in Syria, traveled to Syria on Monday to meet with rebel forces fighting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, according to a spokesman for Mr. McCain. It was the first time that a United States senator had gone to Syria to meet with the rebels since the conflict there began two years ago.

Mr. McCain entered Syria from southern Turkey, according to his spokesman, Brian Rogers, who added that the senator had been in the region to attend the World Economic Forum meeting in Jordan over the weekend.

In 2011, Mr. McCain traveled to Libya to meet with rebel forces there while they were fighting Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, and made similar calls for the United States to provide military aid to the rebels. The United States did ultimately provide military support, along with several European countries, and Colonel Qaddafi’s regime was toppled.

Since the conflict in Syria began, Mr. McCain and Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, have harshly criticized President Obama for not doing more to help the rebels. They argue that the president, who has authorized the shipment of night-vision goggles and body armor, should establish a no-fly zone and provide weapons to the rebels.

While in Syria, Mr. McCain met with Gen. Salim Idris, the leader of the military wing of the Supreme Military Council, a Syrian opposition group. The Obama administration considers General Idris much more of a moderate than the leaders of the Nusra Front, which has ties to Al Qaeda and is better financed and organized. Mr. Obama has refused to provide the rebels with military support because he fears that would empower the more radical elements of the opposition.

After the Israeli military struck a major Syrian military research center near Damascus this month, Mr. McCain said the strike had weakened the argument that Syria’s air defense system would be difficult for the United States to penetrate.

“The Israelis seem to be able to penetrate it fairly easily,” he said on May 5 on “Fox News Sunday.”

The United States, Mr. McCain said, could easily strike the Syrian defenses “with cruise missiles, cratering their runways, where all of these supplies, by the way, from Iran and Russia are coming in by air.”

Sunday Breakfast Menu, May 26

Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

Still echoing through Washington, President Obama's speech Thursday on shifting the nation's approach to counterterrorism will be up for debate on the Sunday shows.

Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, will join ABC's “This Week” to talk about the president's plan and the continuing investigation into whether the Internal Revenue Service targeted conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.

Gen. John R. Allen, who commanded American forces in Afghanistan before retiring in February, will also appear on the program, discussing the fallout from the scandal that led to the resignation of David H. Petraeus as director of the Central Intelligence Agency last year. He is also expected to weigh in on the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as sexual assault in the military. And participants in ABC's panel discussions will include Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee; Representative Peter T. King, Republican of New York; and Dennis C. Bl air, a retired admiral who used to be the nation's top intelligence official.

Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, and Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, will talk about Mr. Obama's speech on “Fox News Sunday.” Bob Dole, a former senator and the 1996 Republican presidential nominee, will share his thoughts on today's Republican Party as he approaches his 90th birthday in July.

As parts of Oklahoma rebuild after last week's devastating tornado, CBS's “Face the Nation” and CNN's “State of the Union” will feature discussions about the recovery with Gov. Mary Fallin of Oklahoma.

CBS will also talk to Senators Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, and Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, whose state is also no stranger to rebuilding after major storms. The lawmakers will also talk about immigration legislation and the investigations into the I.R.S. and the September attack on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. Plus, CBS will feature a panel on extreme weather.

In addition to Ms. Fallin, Representative Michael G. Grimm, Republican of New York, and Mayor Melodee Colbert-Kean of Joplin, Mo., will join CNN to talk about storm recovery. Mr. Grimm's district, which includes Staten Island, suffered many of New York's casualties from Hurricane Sandy last year, and one of the deadliest tornadoes in history hit Joplin in 2011. Representative Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican who is chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, will also be on the program to discuss Mr. Obama's speech.

NBC's “Meet the Press” will not air this Sunday.

Senator Bernard Sanders, independent of Vermont and chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, will be on C-Span's “Newsmakers,” talking about issues including the backlog of benefits claims for veterans.

Colin L. Powell, the retired general and former secretary of state, appeared on Bloomberg's “Political Capital” on Friday. Repeats of the program air throughout the weekend.

Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan, will join Bloomberg's “Capitol Gains” at noon Eastern time to talk about his investigation into how Apple avoided paying billions of dollars in taxes. He is chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which questioned Timothy D. Cook, the company's chief executive, last week.

Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, will join Univision's “Al Punto” at 10 a.m. Eastern time to talk about the progress of the Senate's immigration proposal.

Mr. Durbin and Representatives Trey Radel, Republican of Florida, and Luis V. Gutierrez, Democrat of Illinois, will talk about immigration on Telemundo's “Enfoque,” which airs at noon Eastern time.

Obama Consoles Town Flattened by Tornado

Doug Mills/The New York Times President Obama visited victims of the tornadoes on Sunday in Moore, Okla.

MOORE, Okla. - President Obama walked among 10-foot-tall piles of tornado debris littered with children's schoolbooks on Sunday as he offered the condolences of a nation to a town nearly wiped off the map by a storm.

Standing next to the rubble that was once Plaza Towers Elementary School - and the place where seven children lost their lives when the tornado touched down a week ago - the president declared his confidence that Moore would rebuild and recover, and he pledged the support of his government, and the nation, toward that goal.

“This is a strong community with strong character,” Mr. Obama said with a grim face as he stood with Mary Fallin, the Republican governor of Oklahoma, and other local officials. “There's no doubt they will bounce back. But they need help.”

A president who is often locked in a struggle with Republicans over their disdain for expansive federal agencies, Mr. Obama has repeatedly found himself pledging the full power of the government to confront natural disasters. On Tuesday, the president will return to the New Jersey coast to witness the rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy.

In Oklahoma, Mr. Obama took a brief walk through the remains of what once was a thriving suburb south of Oklahoma City. American flags, flapping in the stiff winds of the warm spring day, were among the rubble.

But the piles also contained reminders of the lives torn apart by winds that topped 200 miles per hour as the twister cut a 20-mile path of destruction through town.

There were 2012 yearbooks from the Plaza Towers school and one workbook titled “Jamal's Surprise.” There were several waterlogged encyclopedias and a pink baby doll stroller. In another pile was a purple plastic toy camcorder and a pink child's parka. Every few feet, crumpled cars blocked the way and twisted metal littered yards that once had lawns. The only trees remaining had no bark and no leaves.

Secret Service agents stood in pairs on the roofs of military vehicles. The only sounds were the hum of a portable generator and the rush the wind.

As he has in other places struck by disaster - Joplin, Mo.; the Jersey Shore; West, Tex.; Colorado Springs; Tuscaloosa, Ala.; and the Gulf Coast - Mr. Obama was the consoler in chief, with the television cameras rolling. He promised Moore residents that his administration would stay with them - as it has, he said, in the other communities - as the Oklahomans rebuilt.

“When I say that we've got your back, we keep our word,” Mr. Obama said outside the school.

The president's visit symbolizes the money and resources of the federal government. More than 450 federal employees remain in Oklahoma a week after the tornado ripped through Moore. Officials said about 4,200 people had registered for a total of $3.4 million in immediate aid made available by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Rebuilding will probably cost billions, with a portion coming from the federal government.

For Mr. Obama, natural disasters like the one in Moore provide a tangible example of his political philosophy - how a robust investment in government can provide returns for its citizens. The grim aftermath of each crisis can test the Republicans' opposition to such policies.

Governor Fallin has repeatedly said that the federal government is bloated and inefficient and needs to be reduced in size and ambition. In her State of the State address in 2012, she disparaged the federal government, making no exception for agencies like FEMA.

“Our success stands in stark contrast to the record of dysfunction, failed policies and outrageous spending that occurs in Washington, D.C.” she told state lawmakers. “In Oklahoma, we could teach Washington a lesson or two about fiscal policy and the size and proper role of government.”

But faced with financial and logistical damages that are beyond the resources of her state, Ms. Fallin has acknowledged the need for federal assistance. In an interview with Glenn Beck on his Internet show, the governor explained the need to work with the federal emergency agencies.

“FEMA was very good to respond, and the president did call yesterday, and they did give us notice last night that our federal emergency disaster declaration was approved,” she said.

In his remarks in Moore on Sunday, Mr. Obama made a point of noting that federal funds had not only paid for disaster relief efforts, but also for the training of local and state police officers and firefighters that helped them to respond quickly after the tornado struck.

“We've got to make sure that those resources remain in place,” Mr. Obama said before visiting with law enforcement officials at a firehouse that now serves as a recovery command center. “We can't just wait until the disaster happens.”

In recent days, Republicans in Congress have seized on a series of controversies involving the Justice Department, the Internal Revenue Service and the State Department, in part to argue that Mr. Obama presides over a government that has grown too big to control.

Other fights are looming in Washington over the deficit, the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration, and the president's proposal for increased preschool spending, a higher minimum wage and a new commitment to infrastructure projects.

Those arguments will continue over the next several weeks as the two parties bicker over the proper size and role of government. The president and the Republicans in Congress may yet battle over the cost of providing long-term assistance to disaster victims.

But in places like Oklahoma, the differences have narrowed for now. Faced with the destructive power that nature can wield, both parties seem more than willing to embrace the need for a well-financed government that can respond quickly.

In his remarks, Mr. Obama recalled hearing that a Bible had been found after a tornado touched down in Oklahoma the day before the one that hit Moore. The Bible, he said, was open to a passage: “A man will be as a hiding place from the wind and a cover from the tempest.”

“It's a reminder,” Mr. Obama said, “as Scripture often is, that God has a plan.”

Wind Down the War on Terrorism? Republicans Say No

Republican lawmakers on Sunday criticized President Obama's vision for winding down the war on terrorism, using talk show appearances to accuse him of misunderstanding the threat in a way that will embolden unfriendly nations.

“We show this lack of resolve, talking about the war being over,” Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, said on “Fox News Sunday.” “What do you think the Iranians are thinking? At the end of the day, this is the most tone-deaf president I ever could imagine.”

In his first major foreign policy address of his second term, Mr. Obama said last week that it was time for the United States to narrow the scope of its long battle against terrorists and begin a transition away from a war footing.

In addition to renewing his call to close the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, he said he would seek to limit his own war powers. He also issued new policy guidelines that would shift the responsibility for drone strikes to the military from the Central Intelligence Agency, and said there would be stricter standards for such attacks.

Mr. Graham, a strong supporter of the drone program, said he objected to changing the standards. Separately, he called for a special counsel to investigate both the Justice Department, which has come under scrutiny for seizing journalists' phone records, and the Internal Revenue Service, which has acknowledged that it unfairly targeted conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.

Democrats, including Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida and Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, praised Mr. Obama for what they said was a necessary rebalancing of civil liberties and national security interests. “We have to balance our values,” Ms. Wasserman Schultz said Sunday on the ABC News program “This Week.”

But at least two lawmakers - the current and former chairmen of the House Homeland Security Committee, Representative Michael McCaul of Texas and Peter T. King of New York - complained specifically about the president's remarks about Guantánamo Bay.

Mr. McCaul warned against closing the detention center, especially if it meant moving prisoners to the United States. “Name me one American city that would like to host these guys,” he said on the CNN program “State of the Union.”

More than half the remaining 166 detainees at Guantánamo Bay are Yemeni; of these, 56 have been cleared to go home. Mr. Obama has proposed repatriating detainees when he can, but will still face the thorny question of what to do several dozen men who cannot be prosecuted and who have been deemed to be too dangerous to release.

Mr. King, appearing with Ms. Wasserman Schultz on “This Week,” said the detention facility had been a success. “Many experts believe it did work,” he said, adding that he was “very concerned about sending detainees back to Yemen.” Noting that Mr. Obama had campaigned on a promise to close the prison, he said the president “could have done a lot more than he has done if he was serious about it rather than just moralizing.”

In calling for a special counsel, Mr. Graham said the Justice Department had begun to “criminalize journalism” and had engaged in “an overreach” in investigating leaks of classified national security information. He also complained of an “organized effort” within the I.R.S. to target political opponents of the president. “I think it comes from the top,” he said, although current and former I.R.S. officials have said Mr. Obama did not know of the targeting.