Slashdot Mirror
Syrian Gov't Agrees To Russian Chem-Weapon Turnover Plan
CNN reports that at least for now we may be able to set aside the question of whether and under what authority the U.S. should intervene militarily in Syria, a question that's dominated the news for the last few weeks. From the report:
"Facing the threat of a U.S. military strike, the country's leaders Tuesday reportedly accepted a Russian proposal to turn over its chemical weapons. ... The development, reported by Syrian state television and Russia's Interfax news agency, came a day after the idea bubbled up in the wake of what appeared to be a gaffe by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. It quickly changed the debate in Washington from 'Should the U.S. attack?' to 'Is there a diplomatic way out of this mess?' Syrian Foreign Minister Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said Tuesday his country had agreed to the Russian proposal after what Interfax quoted him as calling 'a very fruitful round of talks' with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday. Details of such a transfer have yet to be worked out, such as where the arms would go, who would safeguard them and how the world could be sure Syria had handed over its entire stockpile of chemical weapons."
I wonder if this was his plan all along - a way to keep the West out of his civil war. Do something completely outrageous, seemingly capitulate to a demand that you didn't really want to violate anyway, and then be left off in a better position than you were before you used the chemical weapons. As a bonus, you no longer have to worry about guarding these things against the rebels.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
On the other hand, the rebels could have pilfered chemical weapons when they took over a Syrian base in Sep 2012 then used the weapons in an attempt to provoke a western response in order to give them an advantage.
"Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
Obama lucked into an "out" for the predicament he put himself in by drawing the 'red lines' without first thinking through the implications if he was ever called on it.
He is one lucky SOB, that's for sure....an on camera/mike gaffe essentially by Kerry yesterday, turned into a way out for the administration.
If they will do this and confirm it, then it is likely the best thing that would happen, get the chemical weapons out, destroy them and keep them out of the hands of Asad (if he wins) or out of the terrorist groups if they win out.
But man, Big O got lucky again on this one, and look, the media coverage on this has dropped the:
1. IRS scandals
2. NSA privacy breach scandals
3. The hunt and loss of Snowden
4. The upcoming problems and costs assoc. with Obamacare implementation.
On that last one, he gets another gift, this time from the CBO...saying he can save about $35B or so over the next 10 years, if he also puts off the individual mandate for a year.....and doing that will possibly save Dem. seats up for grabs in 2014.
He is sure a lucky one....
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........