WASHINGTON — As the situation in Syria grinds on and members of the global community consider increasing military action to fight the Islamic State group, a top US Senator today defended the US reluctance for large-scale military intervention.

Speaking at the Halifax International Security Forum, an annual event held in the Canadian city, Sen. Tim Kaine, an influential Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, acknowledged that "scar tissue" from the experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq were driving the US to look first for non-military solutions to geopolitical issuesfirst.

"When we lead militarily, we don't always get the outcome that we hope that we would and we're usually not appreciated," Kaine said, referencing the experiences of the early 2000s. "The United States is not interested in being occupiers."

Instead, Kaine said, the US is trying to lead with non-military options. He pointed to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a signature trade agreement for the Obama administration in the Pacific, as an example of how the US can lead on the global stage without resorting to force.

"We're defining the American role in the world more broadly" than just as a military power, Kaine said.

Appearing alongside Kaine at an early morning panel, Gen. Petr Pavel, theCzech Army officer and cChairman of the NATO Military Committee, concurred that non-military options need to be used to help solve the crisis in Syria.

"The major lesson we have learned is that military tools only are not good enough to resolve complex crisis," Pavel said. "Whatever we do in Syria needs to be addressed much more comprehensively than just military tools, and I see some potential for greater [interaction] between institutions and the different actors to bring new measures to resolving the crisis."

Critics of the Obama administration have argued that the strategy in Syria has been too restrained militarily, calling including calls for increased airstrikes and a potentially large numbers of troops on the ground.

The latter is no guarantee of success, Pavel warned, noting, "I think to address the issues in Iraq and Syria does not necessarily need massive presence of ground forces of NATO or coalition. I think here are more ways to how to achieve success without deploying large land forces."

Afterwards, a member of the audience raised concerns that the West has "lost the appreciation" for how military force still plays an important role in geopolitics, something Kaine later touched on.

"A pure military model is not the right model but the notion that the military is not part of the solution is also deeply wrong," Kaine said. "There wasn't going to be a diplomatic discussion with ISIL … military doesn't have to be the lead or even the primary tool, but the notion we can battle terror with no military assets is, I think, deeply wrong."

Speaking to reporters after, Kaine also indicated that he expects the Senate to change a House-passed bill on limiting the number of refugees taken in by the US.

"I don't think that bill is going to pass as is. I think we're going to get into a wide ranging discussion, possibly not just about the refugee program but the visa waiver program we have," Kaine said. "I think we'll work our way to a good result that responds appropriately to the security questions but does it in a way that doesn't betray the values we have as a Statute of Liberty nation."

He added that the debate won't be taken up until the week after Thanksgiving.

Email: amehta@defensenews.com

Twitter: @AaronMehta

About Aaron Mehta

Aaron Mehta was deputy editor and senior Pentagon correspondent for Defense News, covering policy, strategy and acquisition at the highest levels of the Defense Department and its international partners.

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