2015-09-30

Syria Exposes The Aimless Nature Of American And Russian Foreign Policy

If you've had a hard time keeping up with the news in Syria and in particular how it relates to the foreign policies of the United States and Russia you're not the only one.

As far as I can tell, the USA miscalculated and Russia has moved in as the Alpha Male in Syria. Obama has simply been pushed out of the equation. However, this is not a result of brilliant diplomacy or realpolitik on Russia's part. It's simply seizing on the White House's miscues and mixed signals.

Just how have they done this? Comments like the one John Kerry made this week doesn't help:

"...Kerry said violence could end after a ceasefire “if one man would merely make it known to the world that he doesn't have to be part of the long-term future, he'll help manage Syria out of this mess, and then go off into the sunset as most people do after a period of public life.”

“If he were to do that, then you could stop the violence and quickly move to a [managed transition],” Kerry added of Assad during an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." 

Interesting. You mean the guy who Kerry and Hillary called a decent guy and a 'reformer' but a couple of years ago?

What raises skepticism in Kerry's comment is the fact nearly half of Syrians still support Assad. What the U.S. is asking is incredibly irresponsible if not bizarre. Do they not realize an Assad exit will likely result in a massacre of Christians and Alawites?

Iran's perspective on the Americans in Syria can be read here.

As for Russia. The Moscow Times has this to say:

"We are witnessing the birth of Russia's new diplomatic strategy — namely, if Moscow cannot offer anything constructive to the international dialogue, it must create new problems in order to remain relevant.

It was clear from the start that President Vladimir Putin could not offer anything positive that would serve as the basis of negotiations with the U.S. president. As viewers learned from Putin's recent interview on U.S. television, Moscow cannot withdraw its support for the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad or the separatists in Donbass.

What's more, Putin's initiative to form an international coalition to fight the Islamic State remains an empty gesture. Instead, Russia suddenly sent warplanes to Syria. And while those aircraft clearly cannot tip the scales in the war against the Islamic State, they can create a problem for U.S. President Barack Obama."

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