McMaster: I'm 'not saying we are the ones to effect' Syrian regime change

National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster on Sunday suggested unilateral U.S. military action may not be the Trump administration's plan to effect the Syrian regime change U.N. envoy Nikki Haley called "inevitable."

"What Ambassador Haley pointed out is it's very difficult to understand how a political solution [to the Syrian civil war] could result from a continuation of the [Bashar al-Assad] regime," McMaster told Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace.

"Now, we're not saying we are the ones to effect that change," he continued. "What we're saying is other countries should ask themselves some hard questions. Russia should ask themselves, 'What are we doing here? Why are we supporting this murderous regime that is committing mass murder of its own population and using the most heinous weapons available?'"

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

McMaster also addressed the Pentagon's decision to redirect a carrier strike group as a show of force against North Korea, labeling it a "prudent" choice. Watch his comments in context below. Bonnie Kristian