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Sunday, May 27, 2012 5:47 PM UTC

McCain: Don’t count on Russia to force out Assad

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Topics: From the Wires,

McCain: Don't count on Russia to force out AssadThis citizen journalism image provided by Shaam News Network taken Saturday, May 26, 2012, purports to show shrouded dead bodies following a Syrian government assault on Houla, Syria. The Syrian government denied Sunday its troops were behind an attack on a string of villages that left more than 90 people dead, blaming the killings on "hundreds of heavily-armed gunmen" who also attacked soldiers in the area. Friday's assault on Houla, an area northwest of the central city of Homs, was one of the bloodiest single events in Syria's 15-month-old uprising. The U.N. says 32 children under 10 were among the dead. (AP Photo) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS CITIZEN JOURNALISM IMAGE(Credit: AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. John McCain says the U.S. shouldn’t count on Russia to force out Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (bah-SHAR’ AH’-sahd), and he blames President Barack Obama for a “feckless foreign policy” that hasn’t contained the bloodshed.

It was a particularly sharp rebuke even for McCain, who as a longtime critic of Obama’s war strategy hasn’t pulled many punches.

The top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee told “Fox News Sunday” that the U.S. shouldn’t pin its hopes on Russia intervening in Syria. He said Obama is showing he “wants to kick the can down the road” until after the election.

The Syrian government on Sunday denied responsibility for killing more than 90 people, including 32 children. The White House condemned the attack as a “vile testament to an illegitimate regime.”

Anne Flaherty

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  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

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