“You say is what is worse than doing nothing? Maybe doing harm,” Crowley said. “Do you entertain the possibility that some harm could happen if we increase — more harm could happen if we increased it? Help. Military aid.”

“Candy, with all due respect, that’s ludicrous,” McCain replied. He said the U.S. is providing aid to areas in conflict in Africa, but that the U.S. has a clear strategic interest in not allowing the region to grow more unstable. He added that the U.S. could be drawn into a worse conflict if this now is allowed to go unaddressed.