Iran Mocks Capture Of U.S. Sailors In Tehran Revolution Day Parade – Outnumbered, Fox News via You Tube, February 11, 2016
Posted tagged ‘Kerry’
Obama Supports Saudi Invasion of Syria
February 9, 2016Obama Supports Saudi Invasion of Syria Anxious to rollback Russian support for al-Assad
Kurt Nimmo | Infowars.com – February 9, 2016
Source: Obama Supports Saudi Invasion of Syria » Alex Jones’ Infowars: There’s a war on for your mind!
Original article met English news video here !
According to the German newspaper Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten the Obama administration supports a planned Saudi-led invasion of Syria in order to curb Russian support for Syria. The government of Bashar al-Assad invited Russia into the country to help fight US and Saudi supported jihadists in September, 2015.
US support for the planned Saudi invasion comes as al-Assad’s Syrian Arab Army (SAA) with the help of Iranian security forces, Hezbollah and Iraqi Shi’a fighters close in on the major jihadist stronghold of Aleppo and surrounding countryside.
The SAA has captured the towns of Nubul, Ta’ana and al-Zahraa and is closing in on Idlib while Kurdish troops secured several kilometers of the Gaziantep-Aleppo road and captured the town of Deir Jamal. Battles in Bayanoun, Kafr Naya, and Hayyan have defeated the jihadists and closed down a supply route over the Turkish border.
Russia has conducted airstrikes in support of the operation. The Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed it has put into service a large number of T-90 Vladimir tanks in Syria and the SAA is using the third generation battle tank along with assault groups to establish control over a declared security zone between the towns of Azaz and Jarabulus on the Syria-Turkey border.
Confronting the Russians
Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten notes “the Saudis who support several terrorist groups in Syria together with the US are especially interested to overthrow President Assad. The Americans, in turn, want to prevent Russians from playing the main part in the reorganization in Syria.”
The invasion, reportedly planned for March, and billed as an offensive against the Islamic State will put the Saudi coalition into direct conflict with the SAA, Iranian security forces, Hezbollah, Iraqi Shi’a militias and the Russians.
Turkey has demonstrated its willingness to confront Russia directly. In November a Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24M bomber aircraft near the Syria–Turkey border. Turkey is a member of NATO.
Following the establishment of a Russian airbase in Syria near the Turkish border President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey may enter the war on the side of the jihadists fighting against the al-Assad government.
The downing of the Russian aircraft appears to be part of a larger strategy by the United States. In October the leading globalist Zbigniew Brzezinski told the Financial Times he advised Obama to disarm the Russians if they keep attacking the CIA-trained militants in Syria.
“The Russian naval and air presences in Syria are vulnerable, isolated geographically from their homeland,” Brzezinski said. “They could be ‘disarmed’ if they persist in provoking the US.”
“In these rapidly unfolding circumstances the US has only one real option if it is to protect its wider stakes in the region: to convey to Moscow the demand that it cease and desist from military actions that directly affect American assets,” he said.
The Saudi-led invasion is part of the strategy outlined by Brzezinski. It is designed to raise the stakes for Russia and its partners and drive Iran out of Syria.
The strategy, however, is highly risky and is likely to result in an escalation and widening of the conflict and, in a worse case scenario, precipitate direct conflict between the United States and Russia.
An Exasperated John Kerry Throws In Towel On Syria: “What Do You Want Me To Do, Go To War With The Russians?!”
February 8, 2016An Exasperated John Kerry Throws In Towel On Syria: “What Do You Want Me To Do, Go To War With The Russians?!”
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/07/2016 23:48 -0500
“Russian and Syrian forces intensified their campaign on rebel-held areas around Aleppo that are still home to around 350,000 people and aid workers have said the city – Syria’s largest before the war – could soon fall.”
Can you spot what’s wrong with that quote, from a Reuters piece out today? Here’s the problem: “could soon fall” implies that Aleppo is on the verge of succumbing to enemy forces. It’s not. It’s already in enemy hands and has been for quite some time. What Reuters should have said is this: “…could soon be liberated.”
While we’ll be the first to admit that Bashar al-Assad isn’t exactly the most benevolent leader in the history of statecraft, you can bet most Syrians wish this war had never started and if you were to ask those stranded in Aleppo what their quality of life is like now, versus what it was like in 2009, we’re fairly certain you’ll discover that residents aren’t particularly enamored with life under the mishmash of rebels that now control the city.
In any event, Russia and Iran have encircled Aleppo and once it “falls” (to quote Reuters) that’s pretty much it for the opposition. Or at least for the “moderate” opposition. And the Saudis and Turks know it.
So does John Kerry, who is desperate to restart stalled peace negotiations in Geneva. The problem for the US and its regional allies is simple: if Russia and Iran wipe out the opposition on the battlefield, there’s no need for peace talks. The Assad government will have been restored and that will be that. ISIS will still be operating in the east, but that’s a problem Moscow and Tehran will solve in short order once the country’s major urban centers are secured.
As we noted on Saturday, Riyadh and Ankara are extremely concerned that the five-year-old effort to oust Assad is about to collapse and indeed, the ground troop trial balloons have already been floated both in Saudi Arabia and in Turkey. For their part, the Russians and the Iranians have indicated their willingness to discuss a ceasefire but according to John Kerry himself, the opposition is now unwilling to come to the table.
“Don’t blame me – go and blame your opposition,’” an exasperated Kerry told aid workers on the sidelines of the Syria donor conference in London this week.
America’s top diplomat also said that the country should expect another three months of bombing that would “decimate” the opposition, according to Middle East Eye who also says that Kerry left the aid workers with “the distinct impression” that the US is abandoning efforts to support rebel fighters.
In other words, Washington has come to terms with the fact that there’s only one way out of this now. It’s either go to war with Russia and Iran or admit that this particular effort to bring about regime change in the Mid-East simply isn’t salvageable.
“He said that basically, it was the opposition that didn’t want to negotiate and didn’t want a ceasefire, and they walked away,” a second aid worker told MEE.
“‘What do you want me to do? Go to war with Russia? Is that what you want?’” the aid worker said Kerry told her.
MEE also says the US has completely abandoned the idea that Assad should step down. Now, apparently, Washington just wants Assad to stop using barrel bombs so the US can “sell the story to the public.” “A third source who claims to have served as a liaison between the Syrian and American governments over the past six months said Kerry had passed the message on to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in October that the US did not want him to be removed,” MEE says. “The source claimed that Kerry said if Assad stopped the barrel bombs, Kerry could ‘sell the story’ to the public, the source said.”
Of course Kerry won’t be able to “sell” that story to the Saudis and the Turks, or to Qatar all of whom are now weighing their oppositions as the US throws in the towel. “Kerry’s mixed messages after the collapse of the Geneva process have put more pressure on Turkey and Saudi Arabia,” MEE concludes. “Both feel extreme unease at the potential collapse of the opposition US-recognised Free Syrian Army.”
And so, as we said earlier this week, it’s do or die time for Riyadh, Ankara, and Doha. Either this proxy war morphs into a real world war in the next two weeks, or Aleppo “falls” to Assad marking a truly humiliating defeat for US foreign policy and, more importantly, for the Saudis’ goal of establishing Sunni hegemony in the Arabian Peninsula.
The only other option is for John Kerry to face the Russians in battle. As is evident from the sources quoted above, Washington clearly does not have the nerve for that.
US calls for immediate halt to Russian airstrikes in Syria
February 6, 2016US calls for immediate halt to Russian airstrikes in Syria
WASHINGTON – Anadolu Agency
February/06/2016
Source: US calls for immediate halt to Russian airstrikes in Syria – INTERNATIONAL
Russian airstrikes in Syria should be halted, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Feb. 5, adding that humanitarian access talks are ongoing.
“Russia is using what are called free-fall bombs – dumb bombs,” he told reporters at the State Department. “They are not precision bombs, and there are civilians, including women and children, being killed in large numbers as a consequence.”
“This has to stop,” he said.
The latest effort to bring Syria’s warring parties to the negotiating table was suspended earlier this week without any meaningful progress on ending the war, or improving humanitarian access in the country.
But Kerry insisted that cease-fire talks are underway to provide humanitarian access to the country’s besieged areas.
He said the coming days would determine “whether or not people are serious, or people are not serious.”
The Syrian government’s recent advances near the northern city of Aleppo could worsen the country’s already dire humanitarian crisis, the White House said.
“Our principal concern about Aleppo right now is there’s the possibility that government forces backed by the Russians would encircle that city and essentially lay siege to that city,” spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.
“That would obviously exacerbate a terrible humanitarian situation there.”
Backed by allied militias including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and supported by Russian airstrikes, Syrian government forces have made a number of advances on rebel-held towns near Aleppo, most recently taking cities to the north – cutting rebel supply lines to Turkey.
Noting the potential detrimental effects of the offensive for a potential political transition, Earnest said, “the more confident the Assad regime gets in terms of their hold on power, the less of an incentive they have to engage constructively in the political process.”
Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city, has long been a key battleground. Rebel fighters launched an offensive on the northern city in 2012, and it has since been contested by the government, various rebel groups, Kurdish forces and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
A Syrian government siege of the city could potentially leave tens of thousands of civilians without basic necessities.
While he wouldn’t rule out humanitarian aid drops for civilians, Earnest said that the U.S. is focused “on trying to get the kind of cease-fire that would allow aid organizations to provide that relief and that assistance on the ground.”
“You can move a lot more through a convoy of trucks than you can through pallets that are dropped out of a military transport aircraft,” he said.
Thousands of civilians have already fled Aleppo fearing coming conflict.
Lavrov, Kerry confirm plans to hold meeting on Syria in Munich on February 11
February 4, 2016Lavrov, Kerry confirm plans to hold meeting on Syria in Munich on February 11 World
February 04, 14:25
Source: TASS: World – Lavrov, Kerry confirm plans to hold meeting on Syria in Munich on February 11
The top diplomats also agreed to take steps to minimize the pause in the intra-Syrian talks
US and Russian Foreign Ministers John Kerry and Sergey Lavrov © Alexandr Sherbak/TASS
MOSCOW, February 4. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his US counterpart John Kerry in a phone conversation on Thursday confirmed plans to hold a meeting of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) in Munich on February 11, Russia’s Foreign Ministry has said.
“The agreement was also confirmed on holding another ministerial meeting of the International Syria Support Group in Munich on February 11,” the ministry said. The sides will consider “all the aspects of the Syrian settlement in line with the UN Security Council resolution 2254.” Lavrov and Kerry also agreed to take steps to minimize the pause in the intra-Syrian talks.
The talks in Switzerland’s Geneva were suspended on Wednesday until February 25, UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said. “While expressing common regret over the fact that the UN-brokered intra-Syrian dialogue has been temporarily suspended, Lavrov and Kerry agreed to make necessary efforts to ensure that this pause is as short as possible,” the ministry said. Read also Moscow regrets Syria talks paused, but no one expected everything to be smooth — Kremlin Syrian internal opposition says it has legitimate right to take part in talks Russia hopes Syrian Support Group will put no obstacles to intra-Syrian talks — FM Deputy UN envoy: Syria peace talks suspended until 25 February
The Russian side has voiced concerns as some representatives of the Syrian opposition set unacceptable preconditions to establish sustained negotiations with the government of Syria. Moscow also called on the United States and its allies to remain committed to the provisions of the UN Security Council resolution 2254 adopted on December 18 that endorsed a road map for peace process in Syria. Lavrov and Kerry “stated the need for urgent steps both of the Syrian government and the opposition in order to ensure humanitarian access under the UN auspices to the areas of the country blocked both by the government forces and the armed opposition units,” the ministry said.
The Russian and US top diplomats agreed on “possible coordinated actions on delivering humanitarian aid to the certain areas of Syria by air with the use of means of military-transport aviation,” it said.
Obama’s Fake Syrian Peace Talks Falling Apart
January 29, 2016Obama’s Fake Syrian Peace Talks Falling Apart, Front Page Magazine, Daniel Greenfield, January 29, 2016
The peace talks strategy for Syria comes out of Iran and Russia, two countries determined to keep Assad in power. Obama wanted the peace talks in order to rig a fake settlement that would come apart once he was out of office. But the only people fooled by this were stupid enough to get their news from CNN and their talking points from Think Progress. The Sunni side only participated to the extent that they could wreck the talks and extract some demands. They have no intention in signing on to Assad staying in power or to letting Obama get away with a fake solution that does just that.
And, oh yes, no one actually thinks Obama has any credibility.
As the Obama administration pushes for peace in Syria, its credibility is crumbling among Syrian opposition leaders, many of whom increasingly doubt the U.S. is serious about ending the rule of dictator Bashar Assad.
Because he isn’t.
If the talks peter out or collapse, that will further undermine President Barack Obama’s foreign policy legacy, which already has been tarnished by the endless bloodshed in Syria
It’s okay. Obama will blame Tom Cotton or Bush or Israel. Or someone. And the media will go along with it.
“A number of the opposition has expressed the feeling that the U.S. is not acting as an honest broker and that they’ve lost both trust and faith in the ability of the United States to deliver on a political settlement in Syria,” said Andrew Bowen, a senior fellow at the Center for the National Interest who has contacts among Syrian opposition groups.
Obama signed on with Iran. So he’s about as much of an honest broker as any other foreign agent.
“Kerry did not make any promises, nor did he put forward any initiatives,” said Khaled Khoja, president of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, in onestatement questioning U.S. intentions. “He has long been delivering messages similar to those drafted by Iran and Russia, which call for the establishment of a ‘national government’ and allowing Bashar al-Assad to stay in power and stand for re-election.”
Well yes. What else do you expect Kerry to do? This is the only thing he’s been doing since he got to the Senate and even beforehand with the Viet Cong. Traitors gotta traitor.
Among the numerous reports floating around — some of them highly speculative — are those that allege Kerry warned opposition leaders they could lose international support if they didn’t attend Friday’s talks. The reports come as the U.S. has appeared to be backing away from its demand that Assad must leave office by signaling its support for the notion of a transitional period.
And that period will come to an end once Obama is out of office.
But all this is theater anyway as the groups with the most fighters on the ground, including Al Qaeda and ISIS, are not represented. Most of the Islamists aren’t either. So this is just the Muslim Brotherhood, whose actual strength is weak, throwing a tantrum. Even if the Sunni groups signed some sort of deal it would be as worthless as the fake elections Hillary still talks up in Libya
Report: Kerry May Have Exposed Israeli Collaborator on Erekat’s Team
January 18, 2016Report: Kerry May Have Exposed Israeli Collaborator on Erekat’s Team
By: David Israel Published: January 18th, 2016
Source: The Jewish Press » » Report: Kerry May Have Exposed Israeli Collaborator on Erekat’s Team
Palestinian Authority official Seab Erekat meets John Kerry Wednesday under photo of the golden-domed mosque on the Temple Mount.
Photo Credit: Flash 90
Following reports that an employee of the PLO negotiation affairs department who worked for 20 year as an aide to Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat in Ramallah was arrested for “collaborating with Israel,” on Monday the London-based Arabic daily Rai Al-Youm revealed that the order to search for an Israeli spy on the negotiations team came two weeks ago from PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who realized private conversations of PA seniors regarding their political position were known to the US based on Israeli information.
According to Rai Al-Youm, the protocols from secret high level meetings in Ramallah had been leaked to Israel for many years, and the Israelis regularly passed them on to Washington. As State Department officials were turning on the pressure on Abbas to reach a political compromise in the peace negotiations, they revealed their knowledge of intricate details of the Palestinian position, which raised Abbas’s suspicions about a leak. The chairman began questioning European officials, who confirmed to him that the US was receiving a regular flow of information about PA internal meetings from Israel.
Apparently, part of the reason why the arrest of the PLO Israeli collaborator has only taken place this week had to do with the attempt to keep the internal investigation away from Saeb Erekat himself, who only learned about the arrest a week ago. Erekat has been the PLO chief negotiator for years and was renowned for his uncompromising position.
The final round in the negotiations opened in July 2013, with Tzipi Livni heading the Israeli team, vs. Erekatr at the head of the Palestinian team. The talks came to a halt April 2014, when Israel balked on releasing the fourth group of security prisoners, and in response the PA applied unilaterally to join 15 UN institutions, in violation of the peace accords. The anxious negotiator at that part of the encounter was Secretary of State John Kerry, who was desperately trying to push both sides to continue the negotiations.
At some point there, in April 2014, Kerry apparently cited raw information the US was not supposed to have, thus exposing a 20-year operation Israel maintained inside the PLO top command.
About the Author: David writes news at JewishPress.com.
Reassuring, not challenging, Iran
December 25, 2015Reassuring, not challenging, Iran, Israel Hayom, Elliott Abrams, December 25, 2015
Since the signing of the nuclear deal with Islamic Republic of Iran, that government has treated the Obama administration with contempt. U.S. officials might have hoped Iran’s conduct would improve, but it has worsened. Iran sent more Revolutionary Guard troops to fight in Syria, for example; it conducted two ballistic missile tests in violation of a Security Council resolution; leaders continue to chant “Death to America”; and it has imprisoned more Americans.
What is the Obama administration’s response? To beg their pardon.
I refer to a remarkable letter sent by Secretary of State John Kerry to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Iran, in an additional gesture of contempt, has complained about new United States visa requirements placed on persons who have traveled to Iran (or Iraq, Sudan, or Syria). These requirements were recently added so that people who had visited those countries could not come to the United States without getting a visa even if they were from countries that are part of the “visa waiver” program. The obvious purpose: to avoid having terrorists get to the United States through a program that allows them to avoid the visa application process and the information it would supply.
Iran has complained that “Zionist lobbyists” put the new rules in place, a good reminder of the nature of the regime.
How did the United States react? By denouncing the Iranian attacks on “Zionist lobbyists,” which came from the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry? By noting that Iran is the world’s worst state sponsor of terrorism? By recalling the fact that Iran just violated U.N. Security Council resolutions, and continues to jail innocent American citizens?
Nope. By offering reassurance that we certainly do not mean to disadvantage Iran in any possible way. Here is the text of Kerry’s letter:
“December 19, 2015
“His Excellency Mohammad Javad Zarif
“Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran Tehran
“Dear Mr. Minister:
“Thanks for a constructive meeting yesterday. I wanted to get back to you in response to your inquiry about amendments to our Visa Waiver Program. First, I want to confirm to you that we remain fully committed to the sanctions lifting provided for under the JCPOA. We will adhere to the full measure of our commitments, per the agreement. Our team is working hard to be prepared and as soon as we reach implementation day we will lift appropriate sanctions.
“I am also confident that the recent changes in visa requirements passed in Congress, which the Administration has the authority to waive, will not in any way prevent us from meeting our JCPOA commitments, and that we will implement them so as not to interfere with legitimate business interests of Iran. To this end, we have a number of potential tools available to us, including multiple entry 10-year business visas, programs for expediting business visas, and the waiver authority provided under the new legislation. I am happy to discuss this further and provide any additional clarification.
“Secretary of State John Kerry”
Let’s put aside the thanks to Zarif for a “constructive meeting.” We can be sure that Zarif was advancing Iranian national interests, and for doing that, he deserves no thanks from us. The tone of the letter would be fine were it addressed to the foreign minister of Canada. Must we really assure the representative of this vile, repressive regime that regardless of its behavior, we will bend over backward and use every tool possible (“we have a number of potential tools available to us, including multiple entry 10-year business visas, programs for expediting business visas, and the waiver authority provided under the new legislation”) to defend and advance its “legitimate business interests?”
Here’s one of many possible alternative formulations: The ability and willingness of the United States government to use the tools at its disposal will depend on the treatment Iran accords American citizens whom it has unjustly detained and imprisoned. Kerry seems more worried about offending Iran than freeing those Americans — whose imprisonment was an issue set aside during the nuclear negotiations. Must we set it aside forever as we protect Iran’s “legitimate business interests”?
Kerry Tells Iran Congress Visa Requirements will be Waived
December 21, 2015Kerry Tells Iran Congress Visa Requirements will be Waived, Front Page Magazine, Daniel Greenfield, December 21, 2015
The Ayatollah and his terrorists needn’t worry, John Forbes Kerry and Barack Hussein Obama have their back.
The Obama administration, pushing to support international trade with Iran, has advised the country’s rulers not to worry about new U.S. legislation that clamps visa restrictions on people who have traveled to Iran.
Iranian officials have publicly complained the new U.S. rules will unfairly target travelers who visit Iran and could dampen investment interest in their country.
Secretary of State John Kerry wrote his Iranian counterpart on Saturday to assure him the visa changes approved by Congress last week won’t undermine business opportunities in Iran or violate the terms of the nuclear agreement between global powers and Tehran in July. Mr. Kerry said the administration was exploring ways to ensure visitors to Iran aren’t unfairly blocked from entering the U.S.
He specifically cited the State Department’s ability to expedite visa applications and to issue longer-term, multiple-entry travel documents. He also said the White House had the power to issue waivers to potentially exempt individuals from the new travel laws.
Americans can’t get waivers, but enemies of the United States can always get waivers from Obama. Despite Iran’s latest weapons tests, Kerry wrote to Iran that…
Thanks for a constructive meeting yesterday. I wanted to get back to you in response to your inquiry about amendments to our Visa Waiver Program. First, I want to confirm to you that we remain fully committed to the sanctions lifting provided for under the JCPOA. We will adhere to the full measure of our commitments, per the agreement. Our team is working hard to be prepared and as soon as we reach implementation day we will lift appropriate sanctions.
I am also confident that the recent changes in visa requirements passed in Congress, which the Administration has the authority to waive, will not in any way prevent us from meeting our JCPOA commitments, and that we will implement them so as not to interfere with legitimate business interests of Iran. To this end, we have a number of potential tools available to us, including multiple entry ten-year business visas, programs for expediting business visas, and the waiver authority provided under the new legislation.
Now let’s frantically bend over backward for the terrorists.
US bows to Russian demand to keep Assad in office. Israel follows suit
December 16, 2015US bows to Russian demand to keep Assad in office. Israel follows suit, DEBKAfile, December 16, 2015
After two tries, US Secretary of State John Kerry finally turned President Barack Obama away from his four-year insistence that Bashar Assad must go, as a precondition for a settlement of the Syrian conflict. Tuesday, night, Dec. 15, the Secretary announced in Moscow: “The United States and our partners are not seeking so-called regime change.”
After Kerry’s first try, Obama still stuck to his guns. He said in Manilla on Nov.19 that he didn’t believe the civil war in Syria “will end while the dictator remains in power.”
Almost a month went by and then, Tuesday night, after a day of dickering with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov culminating in a joint conference with Putin at the Kremlin, Kerry confirmed this evolution in US policy. The focus now, he said, is “not on our differences about what can or cannot be done immediately about Assad.” Rather, it is on facilitating a peace process in which “Syrians will be making decisions for the future of Syria.”
Rather, it is on facilitating a peace process in which “Syrians will be making decisions for the future of Syria.”
This statement brought Washington in line with Moscow’s demand for the Syrian president’s future to be determined by his own people.
This statement brought Washington in line with Moscow’s demand for the Syrian president’s future to be determined by his own people.
On this demand, Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is even more obdurate than Putin.
DEBKAfile’s Middle East sources wonder about the measure of freedom the Syrian people can expect while it is clamped firmly in a military vice by Russia, Iran and Hizballah. However, this was of no immediate concern to the big power players. Washington’s surrender to the Russian and Iranian line on Assad’s future was offered in the short-term hope of progress at the major international conference on the Syrian question taking place in New York Friday.
Another major US concession – this one to Tehran – was scarcely noticed.
Earlier Tuesday, the UN nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation board in Vienna closed its investigation into whether Iran sought atomic weapons, opting to back the international deal with Tehran rather than dwell on Iran’s past activities.
This motif of going forward toward the future rather than dwelling on the past was a repeat of the argument for keeping Assad in power. It provided an alibi for letting Tehran get away with the suspicion of testing a nuclear detonation at its Parchin military complex, without forfeiting sanctions relief, by the simple device of denying access to UN nuclear agency monitors to confirm those suspicions.
In a single day, the Obama administration handed out certificates of legitimacy to the Syrian dictator, who is responsible for more than a quarter of a million deaths, and to Iran’s advances toward a nuclear weapon.
These epic US policy reversals carried three major messages:
1. The Obama administration has lined up behind Putin’s Middle East objectives which hinge on keeping Bashar Assad in power.
2. Washington endorses Russia’s massive military intervention in Syria, although as recently as last month Obama condemned it as doomed to failure.
3. The US now stands behind Iran – not just on the Syrian question – but also on the existence of an Iranian-Syrian-Hizballah alliance, based on a solid land bridge from Iran and the Gulf up to the Mediterranean coast under Russian military and political protection and influence.
Even more surprising were the sentiments heard this week in Jerusalem.
Our military and intelligence sources cite officials urging the government to accept the American policy turnaround. In some military circles, senior voices were heard commenting favorably on Assad’s new prospects of survival in power, or advising Israel to jump aboard the evolving setup rather than obstructing it.
Those same “experts” long claimed that Assad’s days were numbered. They were wrong then and they are wrong now.
Israel was forced to yield on the Iranian nuclear program, but its acceptance of the permanence of Assad and the indefinite presence in Syria of his sponsors, Iran and Hizballah, will come at a high price for Israel in the next conflict.
WarSclerotic 
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