WP Editorial- The U.S. needs to get more aggressive on SyriaIt still looks as if a narrative is being promoted Talking points:1- The impending elections which Assad will win handily2- Advances made by the Syrian Army3- The claims of non compliance with chemical weapons destruction/removal4 - The claims of Russia invading Ukraine as a justification or cover for that long planned for spring offensive including a possible no fly zone5- The possibility that rather then a full out onslaught there will be an attempted assassination of Assad which serve two purposes a- undermine the election and b- demoralize the Syrian people and her armyWP- “WASHINGTON’S SEEMING inability to focus on more than one international crisis at a time “Utter bullocks! Washington has been fully engaged in the Ukraine and in Syria, simultaneously.Thought?- Could the US spin of Russia invading Crimea be used to justify a US invasion of Syria?Invasion is a loaded term and of course it is highly debatable whether or not Russia actually did invade Crimea- From my perspective it appears an invitation was extended to persons already present and on the ground. But spin is spin. And as I have mentioned the narrative is buildingGetting back to that WP editorial claim. The Obama administration has been fully engaged in Syria, supplying arms, fighters training and much, much more- As stated - Fodder, consumable but inferior. As mentioned in yesterday’s post and here is yet another news item from the Guardian- Syria war: new push against Assad being planned, So much for the nonsense from Washington Post about an inability to focus on more then one issue
The initiative, as reported in the region, is set against a backdrop of secret talks in the US last month between Susan Rice, Barack Obama's national security adviser, and Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the Saudi interior minister in charge of covert action programmes in Syria.
Spy chiefs from Jordan, Turkey, Qatar and other regional countries (ISRAEL) also attended the discussions, focused on making a "stronger effort" to help the rebels.
According to various reports mostly based on rebel statements or official or semi-official leaks, the aim of the offensive is to push back government forces in the Daraa, Quneitra- (Israel) and As-Suwayda governorates in south-west Syria, so opening the road to Damascus.The offensive has been dubbed Geneva Horan, a reference to the plains near the Jordanian border and Israeli frontier.
The election angle-Syria readies for Assad election win.Assad supporters out in full force An election this year, 2014, in Syria. And Assad is going to win, quite handily.The US and UN know this. It seems there had been pressure on Iran to ‘convince’ Assad to forget about elections. UN Fears Assad win in free Syrian Elections(Think about the Iranian embassy bombing in Lebanon?)
Ambassador Roknabadi: [U.N. Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey] Feltman, during a visit to Iran last summer, asked officials to convince Assad not to run in the elections. The Iranian officials asked him: ‘What’s the problem if he runs,’ to which Feltman responded: ‘If he runs, he will win the elections.’
As I have stated on numerous occassions the UN is the “shiny happy face’ of the NATO global war machine. So, it should come as no surprise that the UN would be so disingenuous. No surprise at all.
If Ambassador Roknabadi is accurate in his account, this confirms much about the US government’s cynical regime-change ploy in Syria. Not that it is any surprise to those paying attention. It is in keeping with US ambivalence toward actual electoral democracy in those places which it purports to democratize. From Gaza to Egypt to Afghanistan to Libya to Iraq, it seems what US democratization efforts fear most is actual democracy.
US ambivalence towards democracy. Like in Ukraine. Non compliance regarding chemical weapons?- As karin mentioned in her comment, previous post, Syria has until the end of June 2014 to comply so why the sudden push? Syria did ask for an extension. Not sure if they got it or notBut, according to all reports, Syria has until June 30 2014 to comply- we are still more then 3 months away from that deadline- so why push the chemical weapon non-compliance button this many months in advance?
"Completion of removal (of the weapons) and destruction by June 30, 2014, is indeed achievable if action is taken by Syria now...
"said the delay would have to be approved by the OPCW and would essentially nullify the June 30 deadline set by the United Nations Security Council"
Clearly Syria has until June 30/14 to comply and yet I keep catching indicators of non compliance claims and dates that don’t quite apply
“likely violate a March 15 requirement for” March 15/14 that is just 4 days away from today......
March 15 is not June 30th/2014- so why the media keeps pushing this March date????And finally- Invasion of Syria as the US alleges was done by Russia in Crimea?- There is no comparison.However an assassination attempt, particularly a successful one, would 'kill two birds with one stone' for the NATO global war machine and IsraelAssad will not run in the election and the Syrian people/army will be in shamblesMy heart goes out to the Syrian people always- they are braver then brave, at least that's how I see them :)