AlMasdarNews reports: On Thursday, the New York Times reported that more than 50 diplomats from the U.S. State Department signed an internal memo urging President Barack Obama to use force against the Syrian government of President Bashar Al-Assad.
According to the memo, these diplomats believe that military strikes against the Syrian government would deter them from violating the countryside ceasefire agreement.
The State Department signatories are calling for a “judicious use of stand-off and air weapons, which would undergird and drive a more focused and hard-nosed U.S.-led diplomatic process.”
This letter from the State Department comes just 48 hours after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement that expressed the U.S.’ discontent with the events taking place inside Syria.
While the U.S. State Department alleges that the Syrian government has violated the nationwide ceasefire on a number of occasions, local monitoring groups have actually reported that most of the breaches coming from the opposition forces.
Countering the U.S. State Department’s narrative regarding the ceasefire violations is the Russian military’s report from inside the country. One key characteristic that distinguishes the aforementioned parties is the fact that there are no U.S.military personnel embedded with the so-called “moderate” rebels; however, the Russian military is spread across the country.
The Russian monitoring groups announce every ceasefire violation, while the U.S. Statement tends to counter these claims with some ambiguous allegation that is often untrue. Russia has asked the U.S. to play a more active role in decreasing the violence in Syria, but there is a significant difference between sending monitoring groups and F-16s to broker peace.
Sorry to say, but with its endless pussyfooting, Russia is only getting what it deserves–inviting more American aggression. After countless betrayals one’d have thought the Kremlin would have learned it cannot please a West that only despises it, and that wants Russia gone. Thanks for being a grown-up and not starting WWIII prematurely, but if you want to avoid a much wider confrontation you have to deter it. If these boys and girls at State have their way, soon Russia will face a choice between outright defeat and killing Americans–both dreadful options. If the Russian leadership cannot cure itself of this “liberal disease” it is facing ruin. – Meanwhile, potential allies which Russia badly needs may be getting the impression that the Kremlin sees them as bargaining chips, to be traded to Washington at an opportune moment. Nice bunch of “diplomats” by the way if their main focus is on bomb, bomb, bomb.
I don’t feel the same way. If anything, Russia offering olive branches to the Americans just to have them decline is damaging America’s credibility as well as improving Russia’s. If Russia had done as you suggested, WW3 is inevitable. Those US “diplomats” should be ignored completely as their approach will trigger the Syrian-Russian defence treaty and start a serious conflict with the Russians.
Already, we are seeing positive changes with Putin’s approach. An increasing number of European countries wish to drop sanctions and make peace with Russia again. Not to mention Ban-Ki Moon just came out and praised Putin for his “Global Leadership”, a phrase previously used to describe the US.
I agree with you Robert. Better to try negotiation that start WW3. The American economy is in shambles and the warmonger politicians and government employees are itching to try anything to get start a war or conflict to distract Americans and line their pockets and their masters’ pockets. But, the American public was against going to Syria and now these pigs can just used special forces which is not the same as sending the whole bloody army there. I’m hoping that Trump gets elected because he’s our best chance of having peace with Russia. HIllary will be worse than Obama. I agree too that the Europeans are starting to question American government agenda. Russia sanctions are a ruse to bring down Europe and them make more susceptible to takeover by American corporations. I love my country, and Constitution, but not crazy about the many thieves and murderers in my government. There is no reason that we can’t all respect our differences and do business together. Pray for Trump victory. There is no alternative.
I have nothing against trying negotiation. But in the Syria conflict, Russia was making nice without first securing the Turkish border, and (at least initially) looking the other way as the weapons continued to flow to “moderate Al-Qaeda”. It appeared to endorse to truly terrible notions, like that US arms deliveries confer “legitimate opposition” status to jihadist gangs–Russia could have a lot of future fun in the Caucasus if this nonsense is allowed to continue. — My point was that by rolling over on key issues, Russia has only emboldened this crowd of “diplomats”, thereby increasing the chances for WWIII unfortunately.
They have not rolled over. They have behaved rationally. They will act as time goes on to irrational behaviour. The Russian defence posture and doctrine is very defensive but the gloves will be removed if russia is attacked. I guess the group think morons believe they are imune to nukes.
This may well be but, to invert your words, if the gloves stay on until Russia itself is attacked, why intervene in Syria to begin with? You know from the outset that, as Zero Hedge put it, the Zionist side “will not go gently into that good night”. If adversaries and potential allies would form the impression that Russia only wanted to put its weapons in the spotlight with its Syria operation, Russia will only have harmed itself. – Yes your last line is also on my mind. The Japanese have gone through the trauma of accepting that their Emperor is not divine, but Americans still believe. For all their Ivy League degrees, this only holds stronger for the powerful. It’s well known that Dr. Strangelove was based on real characters, and the idea of winnable nuclear war is still with us. Terrifying.
This war, like the other world wars it’s about oil and money.
The US abandoned the gold standard, because it thought it could force the rest of the world to use US dollars for trade, and in particular oil. Any nation that has questioned the enforced use of the US dollar(Iraq, Sudan, Libya etc) has been totally destroyed. The US tried to take its monopoly one step further by trying to stop Russia from selling its oil and gas to Europe. The US has successfully blockaded Russian gas exports in Ukraine Bulgaria and Turkey. The US intended to supply Europe with Iranian gas that it would steal via Qatar, and horizontal drilling, like they did in Kuwait. For that grand American pipeline plan to work, the US needs parts of Syria. Russia has blocked the US pipeline by its intervention in Syria.
Well, as the wise man said, “we will see”. But where, for instance, is the evidence that “[a]increasing number of European countries wish to drop sanctions”? European leaders know the sanctions war is deeply unpopular with their voters–in itself no big deal, but it’s deeply unpopular with their businesses as well. So they say they’re looking into it, maybe next year for sure, shift the blame to the EU bureaucracy–and then in a couple weeks they’ll vote unanimously for sanctions extension, because that’s what Uncle Sam told them to do. – All this talk that Russia’s masterstrokes “will expose Western hypocrisy”, what does that even mean? People who inform themselves have known about it since, ermm, the genocide of the American Indians. Others will continue to be told it’s all Putin’s fault even if Russia confines itself to building orphanages all over Syria. Seems to me, since Russian ceasefire efforts in Syria, the hysteria about “Russian aggression” has only been ratcheted up–and we haven’t even climaxed yet with the NATO summit. But then again, we will see.
Another point here is that some effects of the sanctions war are now becoming irreversible, as EU companies cannot hope to recover lost market share once alternative suppliers have established themselves. The division of Europe will then have acquired a permanent character–just as intended.
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160428/1038754925/sanctions-vote-summit.html
https://www.rt.com/usa/331111-sanctions-eu-mccain-usa/
https://www.rt.com/news/345898-french-senate-lifting-sanctions/
https://www.rt.com/news/343586-veneto-resolution-crimea-sanctions/
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-eu-idUSKCN0WG1AU
Here’s where I’m getting my evidence. These stories have been coming up in recent months and tells me Europe is not united in continuing the sanctions. Granted, they are thinking of their own economies than anything else but sooner rather than later, the sanctions will fall apart, in my opinion.
But you are right. The hysteria truly is getting ratcheted up to very high levels and may sway the more gullible masses of the uninformed. Even so. One can only hope more see through the trash on Mainstream Media nowadays before it’s too late.
Don’t agree with the comment. Syria for all its faults is a sovereign country. Just like all the others in the degenerates in washington have bombed. The Russians and Chinese know that they will have to fight. There is no reasoning with perfidious.
It is also up to Syria to protect itself as well, and to demand from UN that US steps aside. US will have to go through the UNSC before it can just attack Syria, like it did with Libya. This time though, wont be so easy for US. They can try, but I imagine many old but still functioning air defense systems will be operational by then.
The UN is a US sock puppet.
For Russia it’s like fishing, they have a big white pointer hooked on a light line.
They need to let the beast tire by reeling him in when they can, and letting him run when they can’t. Eventually the beast will tire, and when they get it alongside, they can finish it off.
S400, just saying.
The arm chair strategists at the State Department are counting on Russia being in as much awe of US military power as they think it should be, and not responding. These are the sorts of people who read Toffler’s ‘4th generation Warfare” trash and believe every word. They have no idea of military realities. They do not realise that US forces are not as sophisticated or well-trained as they think, or that Russia is not the Russia of the 90s. They just look at money spent and think, as if they were playing some game, that having spent so much more money, their playing pieces must be so much more advanced, and everyone else must be too afraid of their expensive toys to dare stand in their way. Our habit of picking on militarily inept states has only exacerbated their delusions. I’m sure they deeply believe all the hyperbole and propaganda about the stealth characteristics of F-22s (after all, look how expensive it is!) in any case. The US State Department also thought the War of 1812 was a great idea, and that getting Canada was a sure thing.
Spot on. The US has neglected or has not bothered to maintain a technology watch on what is being developed. The US indulges in ‘finance based planning’ where they think that throwing money at something will deliver a superior outcome. It will not. The Russians and Chinese seek to develop superior capabilities to address specific needs using technology. This is technology based planning.
It looks like the profession of diplomat has now been privatised, they will now promote the wars of the highest bidder.
Sadly, the US State Department has historically quite often been the most vociferous proponents of pointless and dangerous military operations, rather than this being a new development. They, after all, won’t be fighting them personally. The people at the State Department do not see themselves as peacemakers, but as players of Brzezinski’s great game, and as such, people and nations are just pieces and spaces on the board. Betting that the Russians won’t respond is seen by such individuals as a daring gambit, rather than the dangerous risk it is. After all, if the US bid to for hegemony fails, and it becomes merely another country at the table, they will have to give up playing on the Grand Chessboard and attend to more mundane diplomatic tasks. Any cost is probably worth it to them to avoid fading into banality.
Our appointed officials by the Rothschild’s are crazy.
Diplomats? Mid level State Department officials? Sounds more like an Obama operation to me. He is the one who wants war with Russia. It will not fool anyone.