Monday, January 25, 2016

Has The U.S. Just Made A Major Retreat In Its Syrian Policy?

Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes, US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power, US Secretary of State John Kerry, and US President Barack Obama.

Natasha Bertrand, Business Standard: The Obama administration just 'made a scary retreat' in its Syria policy, and negotiations are quickly unraveling

In a meeting with members of Syria's opposition in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, US Secretary of State John Kerry demanded that rebels accept a set of preconditions dictated by Russia and Iran in order to participate in peace talks, according to an explosive report by the daily pan-Arab newspaper Al Hayat.

The terms Kerry reportedly asked the opposition Saudi-backed High Negotiation Committee (HNC) to accept — including a "national unity government" instead of a transitional governing body that would phase Syrian President Bashar al-Assad out of power — represent "a scary retreat in the US position," opposition sources told the head of Al Hayat's Damascus bureau, Ibrahim Hamidi.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: When it comes to Syria .... there have been so many U.S. red lines crossed that even I have lost count. U.S. credibility has clearly taken a hit in the eyes of their long-term allies in the region, and with this retreat it will only fuel this perception.

7 comments:

Jay Farquharson said...

WNU Editor,

The US Policy regarding Syria has always been delusional, an Internet Gnomes Policy, since 2006,

1). sponsor and arm radical Radical Islamic Head Chopping Jihadi's,.....

2). ??????????????

3). Peaceful Democratic Pro-Western Syria!

In the past week, from Ashton Carter to John Kerry, the US "statements" have been all over the map, threatening everyone and blaming everyone, except their own Policies.

Reality, as formed by the R+6 is gradually intruding into their delusions of grandeur.

Don Bacon said...

Russia has repeatedly committed to a Syrian solution to a Syrian government, not an externally imposed one. That means elections, which Assad would probably win. The MSM has been full of stories of Russia abandoning Assad, untrue.
Regarding red lines, I'm only aware of one US red line in Syria, on Syria using chemical weapons, and there is no proof of that. Even the CIA didn't through on that one.

War News Updates Editor said...

Don:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/the-president-blinked-why-obama-changed-course-on-the-red-line-in-syria/

http://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-says-syrian-leader-bashar-al-assad-must-go-1447925671

Don Bacon said...

Talk about stupid:(He may be a great physicist but....)

news report:
U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Sunni nations must do more to support the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State terrorists in Iraq and Syria, offering his most direct public criticism of inaction by Gulf allies such as Saudi Arabia. It’s strange that a Sunni extremist group running rampant in Iraq and Syria should attract as little Sunni Arab counterweight as it has so far,” Carter said Friday in an interview in Davos, Switzerland, with Bloomberg Television. “I would look to galvanize that.”

The whole US strategy has been to have a Sunni presence in the middle of the Middle East. I guess Carter didn't get the memo.

Don Bacon said...

WNU Editor,

First, thanks for doing all this. You must be three people.

PBS: No proof Syria did a chemical attack. Sy Hersh did a story on it. More recently a Turkish MP told RT that Turkey/ISIS were involved. No proof.

WSJ:Paywall, headline says that Obama said Assad must go. He's been saying that for four years, but Obama will be gone before Assad, probably.

James said...

The Syrian peace talks are about to start....yes, yes they are at the starting line. We take you to the start of the talks:
https://youtu.be/15Z5nsyLDbE

Unknown said...

Obama is a lover boy not a fighter.

A babushka has more fight than Obama.