PrintSeptember 15, 2013
Vlad got Syria....what did we get?
The press is reporting that a deal was struck between the US and Russia over Syria:
"The United States and Russia agreed Saturday on an outline for the identification and seizure of Syrian chemical weapons and said Syria must turn over an accounting of its arsenal within a week.
The agreement will be backed by a U.N. Security Council resolution that could allow for sanctions or other consequences if Syria fails to comply, Secretary of State John F. Kerry said.
Kerry said that the first international inspection of Syrian chemical weapons will take place by November, with destruction to begin next year.
Senior administration officials had said Friday the Obama administration would not press for U.N. authorization to use force against Syria if it reneges on any agreement to give up its chemical weapons.
The Russians had made clear in talks here between Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Kerry that the negotiations could not proceed under the threat of a U.N. resolution authorizing a military strike. Russia also wanted assurances that a resolution would not refer Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the International Criminal Court for possible war-crimes prosecution."
As I see it, President Putin just guaranteed that Russia will have an ally in Syria. The rebels, the good & bad ones, are now dead in the water. The US has just legitimized the Assad regime. Weren't we saying not long ago that Assad had to go?
We also took the military option off the table. Why did we do that? But maybe we didn't, according to President Obama! Another round of confusion between Secretary Kerry and President Obama!
And Vlad Putin is off to Iran! He loves to travel doesn't he?
I hope that this plan works out well. However, put me down as very skeptical. It's hard to see how a plan negotiated by Assad and Putin adds up to anything that helps the US. Again, I'm very skeptical!
I agree with my good friend Bill Katz, the editor of Urgent Agenda:
"Now Russia will emerge as Iran's protector, just as it emerged as Assad's protector. Once again we are too late. Iran should have been confronted much earlier on its nuclear program, which is now far along, but Obama wasn't willing, and the European Union certainly wasn't willing.
I find it fascinating that only two movements have risen in power on Obama's watch - radical Islam and Communism. Hmm. You don't think...? Of course not. We must not ask serious questions."
