Pinky wrote:No, another relevant part is that Kerry's statement was made off the cuff to dismiss the idea that Assad could avoid an attack.
After Kerry's statement, the State Department made it very clear that no such offer was on the table and effectively retracted the statement. The Russians then stepped in and got their buddy Assad to agree to surrender his weapons.
Unless you think the administration really was secretly trying to broker this deal all along and the State Department dismissed Kerry's statement simply to avoid ruining the surprise, it looks like the administration was outmaneuvered.
That's ridiculous. If the goal is to punish Syria for chemical weapons usage, eliminating all their chemical weapons with Russian support is a much better solution than air strikes.
Of course, it's a better solution. It's also not at all the solution this bumble fuck administration was pushing for. Bush III was pushing as hard as he could for air strikes, despite public opinion and international law, and the Russians used a dismissive comment from the Secretary of State to derail his plans.
The fact that a better solution was mentioned in a comment the State Department immediately tried to walk back does no help your case.
"The biggest problems that we’re facing right now have to do with George Bush trying to bring more and more power into the executive branch and not go through Congress at all."
Pinky wrote:No, another relevant part is that Kerry's statement was made off the cuff to dismiss the idea that Assad could avoid an attack.
After Kerry's statement, the State Department made it very clear that no such offer was on the table and effectively retracted the statement. The Russians then stepped in and got their buddy Assad to agree to surrender his weapons.
Unless you think the administration really was secretly trying to broker this deal all along and the State Department dismissed Kerry's statement simply to avoid ruining the surprise, it looks like the administration was outmaneuvered.
That's ridiculous. If the goal is to punish Syria for chemical weapons usage, eliminating all their chemical weapons with Russian support is a much better solution than air strikes.
Of course, it's a better solution. It's also not at all the solution this bumble fuck administration was pushing for. Bush III was pushing as hard as he could for air strikes, despite public opinion and international law, and the Russians used a dismissive comment from the Secretary of State to derail his plans.
The fact that a better solution was mentioned in a comment the State Department immediately tried to walk back does no help your case.
As an impartial observer, I think that this guy makes sense.
Some Pajama Clad IGx Pontificator wrote:This bastard can fail himself to success like no one I've ever seen.
I (I mean he) was speaking of Obomba not Spells.
Mao wrote:Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. Our principle is that the Party commands the gun, and the gun must never be allowed to command the Party
Luckily for Spells, this too has nothing to do with America.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted Iran’s invitation to visit Tehran to work out a strategy for the Islamic regime’s nuclear program, Fars News Agency reported Saturday. The West believes the Iranian program is a front for developing nuclear weapons.
Putin, seen by Iran’s clerical establishment as a strong opponent to America and the West — especially after his successful political play on averting a U.S. missile strike on Syria — was approached by Iran to protect the Islamic regime in the face of continued pressure by the West over its illicit nuclear program.
I have no idea whether Putin welcomes a nuclear Iran, but Iran strengthening its relationship with Russia surely isn't an American foreign policy goal. Good thing Barry is still in the driver's seat on middle east policy, eh Spells?
after obama's threat of a strike provided the impetus for a diplomatic resolution of syrian chemical wmd he's now in the driver's seat with regard to iran
time to threaten to strike iran's nuclear wmd facilities unless they open up to full inspection
barry holds the high cards
the only risk to success is newly pacifist republicans who have become quakerish
Really Big Strong Guy: There are a plethora of psychopaths among us.
protobuilder wrote:Luckily for Spells, this too has nothing to do with America.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted Iran’s invitation to visit Tehran to work out a strategy for the Islamic regime’s nuclear program, Fars News Agency reported Saturday. The West believes the Iranian program is a front for developing nuclear weapons.
Putin, seen by Iran’s clerical establishment as a strong opponent to America and the West — especially after his successful political play on averting a U.S. missile strike on Syria — was approached by Iran to protect the Islamic regime in the face of continued pressure by the West over its illicit nuclear program.
I have no idea whether Putin welcomes a nuclear Iran, but Iran strengthening its relationship with Russia surely isn't an American foreign policy goal. Good thing Barry is still in the driver's seat on middle east policy, eh Spells?
From an article about Khruschev and Beria but germane to this thread. Soviets/Russians have seen the value in Turkey & Iran for a long time. Putin is playing a long game and it looks like Obama is just trying to get through one uncomfortable and embarrassing event completely of his own making.
Beria recognized his own vulnerabilities for his utmost complicity in monstrous bloodshed, and also the similar and larger vulnerabilities of the Soviet system, and he was alive to many overlooked opportunities. Alone in the hierarchy he seems to have appreciated the strategic significance, during and after the war, of Turkey and Iran. Most of Beria's personal files remain closed, but his son writes plausibly that his father hated to see Turkey so readily recruited into the American orbit. In northern Iran, according to Sergo, contrary to the party's transparently doomed intrigues to create a Communist regime, Beria stressed maintaining good relations to guarantee access to oil, or possibly organizing a putsch to bring back the Shah, who would then be beholden to the Soviets. (The CIA-assisted coup that re-installed the Shah in 1953 happened to take place one month after Beria's arrest.)
Time's take on who's large and in charge.
Mao wrote:Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. Our principle is that the Party commands the gun, and the gun must never be allowed to command the Party
dead man walking wrote:after obama's threat of a strike provided the impetus for a diplomatic resolution of syrian chemical wmd he's now in the driver's seat with regard to iran
time to threaten to strike iran's nuclear wmd facilities unless they open up to full inspection
I can't tell if you're being facetious, but I am:
Threatening to bomb Iran does sound like a good idea. America is undoubtedly in a great position in terms of global influence to just decide to threaten yet another country, especially one that is now receiving cover from a member of the UN security council. I imagine Barry would have no trouble recruiting a coalition, given his recent success in the region.
facetious about iran but the threat of a strike is what made syrian diplomacy possible
the vast and expanding middle east quagmire going back more than a decade makes vietnam look like the little mudbog down the road where the fire department is holding a fundraiser
the best target for a strategic strike would be dc itself
Really Big Strong Guy: There are a plethora of psychopaths among us.
