Putin negotiating a peaceful settlement
 

I am baffled how Putin was able to start negotiations with Syria about turning over their chemical weapons (which they claim they don't have) and Kerry never tried this approach. Kerry makes an off the cuff remark this morning about Assad turning over the weapons which the state department immediately tried to distance themselves from and Putin takes it and runs with it. Now the President has a life line being thrown to him by the most unlikely character - Putin - and hopefully all this sabre rattling will end.

So best case scenario - the imaginary chemical weapons are turned over to the UN for safe keeping and Assad and the rebels can keep killing each other without us having to get involved. Wow what a world we live in.

you make an assumption Putin and Syria negotiated anything. Kerry presented an opening in his comments todat that the Russian ambassador jumped on and in a matter of hours connected with Putin who turned around and connected with Syria.

Putin has not only stolen the show, he saved Obama's bacon who now does not need a vote in congress or worry about what the US people think.

We are being played by a professional (Putin).

Can you imagine any decision like this being made in our system within a matter of hours??? Don't work to hard on imagining....it is impossible.

Whew now we can put that one on the back burner. :a20:

btk

I think it is more logical to assume that this is a legitimate temporary delay and perhaps a final solution which was worked out by Putin and Obama at the G-20 Summit. Kerry was assigned to announce it, complete with the public admission that it would satisfy the US. Then, also by script, the White House danced a bit to reduce the level of excitement and give the Russians time to get started on the details. We cannot steal their thunder now and have anyone think it was really our solution.

Syria would never allow their vast chemical weapons stash to be turned over to international authorities, but they might allow monitors to "stand by" at weapon's sites. The problem with that is there are many weapons sites and the Syrians want them to be kept secret. If the Russians are able to broker an agreement for international monitoring, Putin will be seen as the strong hero and Obama the weaker of the two. Putin would be a lock for the next Nobel Peace Prize. This costs us some valuable "world points", but that's a small price. What we gain at the very least is a lengthy delay in the crisis confrontation. Maybe even a long enough delay that the Syria retaliatory strike becomes a moot point.

I'd love to know who thought of this. It's rather brilliant. Maybe a Congressman who was sweating bullets about Thursday's vote, which was just cancelled in the Senate. Not because he/she cared about the result, but because everyone would know how they voted and the Washington pecking order could be disturbed. So Congress wins. Obama also wins because he was really in a no-win situation if he lost the congressional vote.

About the only thing we end up losing in the end is the fact that we failed as a nation, and a world, to respond with action to the senseless slaughter of civilians. This time it was with chemical weapons which we had a treaty with scores of other nations never to accept. Oh well, we've broken lots of treaties before (see: Native Americans), and we've let warmongers everywhere kill millions of civilians in most brutally senseless ways. And none of that seems to matter to a lot of folks today.

Agree with much of what you write; however tonight it was announced that the "talks" had been going on behind the scenes for sometime. It was a foregone conclusion that this would be the outcome, everyone comes out smelling like a rose! Assad can go on killing his people, Putin looks good and Obama comes out of it without having to deal with this useless Congress.

But there is one more thorn in Obama's side - Putin still owes him for Townsend, and I (for one) believe he'll squeeze him for that little embarrassment!

Welcome to international politics in action.

That's a best case scenario? Let the killing go on as long as we aren't involved? Yes, it is quite a world we live in. :doh:

Does anyone really think Putin--General KGB--does or says ANYTHING without something major up his sleeve??

I don't trust him or any of his buddies to resist a chance to make us look like fools. He would love to embarrass the USA and especially our president.

The Russians look like heroes to the world.....a role the U.S. used to have.

What I have read from middle eastern sources from Syrian defectors in 2012 say Russia is the source of the nerve gas and that Iran and Russia "supervised" the use of it against the rebels.

Putin wants to broker a deal? what????

Putin and Syria come to an agreement, everyone saves face ... Win win except for those already gassed I guess.

I guess Obama should cancel his "sales speech" to the American public tonight.

I will make a bet if he does not, we will hear how he some how or other made the Russian move come to pass. In on of his interviews last night (of the very many!!!) when asked if he had spoken to Putin about Syria he mentioned the did discuss it when they met last year.

Really? One would think he might have discussed it when they met last year!!

Are you good at vizualization? CLose your eyes and imagine this:

Obama standing on a platform with a sign on it "sell Americans on Syria"....Putin and Assaad have their hands on the corners ready to yank it out from under him while trying to not laff their a$$ off:D

Just another can, of the many, kicked down the road......current politics modus operendi!!!

btk

I don't car who gets the credit, just as long as the attack from the US DOES NOT HAPPEN.

This whole episode is rich with irony and cynicism .... Assad's chemical weapons came from Russia in the first place as they have been a client state for years. Thus, when Putin magically solves the problem, he's the hero and Obama's the goat. You have to give Putin a grudging amount of credit ... he's the guy calling the shots in this instance.

It's also embarrassing to watch the President and SecState in action. I almost feel sorry for them because it's clear they don't really know what they're doing, but will no doubt claim credit if this issue is postponed a bit. In the end, weakness coupled with incompetence is very provocative and dangerous to world stability and peace.

Actually, none of this makes sense.

One of the strongest supporters of this administration has been Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post....an unabashed fan of our President. This morning, he writes in the Post...

"The Obama administration keeps undermining its own case for a punitive strike in Syria. If the president wants permission from Congress and support from the American people, he and his aides had better get their story straight.

The “messaging,” to use an unfortunate Washington term, has been confusing, contradictory and halfhearted. The nation simply will not approve going to war if its leaders cannot coherently explain what they want to do, how they plan to do it and why.

Secretary of State John Kerry threw mud into turbid waters Monday when he said the attack would be an “unbelievably small, limited kind of effort.” This punch line came at the end of a string of similar assurances: no “troops on the ground,” nothing “prolonged,” merely a “very targeted, short-term” affair.

But if the attack is designed to be so limited, why bother? Why not just send a special envoy to give Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad a stern talking-to, followed perhaps by a reassuring hug? "

Eugene Robinson: Obama fails to make the case for Syria - The Washington Post

Having said that, it will be interesting to see how this develops. Obviously this was not done in advance as some have suggested or they could have all been "heroes" and saved a lot of this confusion but to somebody's point......not bombing is a good thing and it will save whatever the response may have been.

There seem to be more questions than answers....if a strike that small as they keep describing needs to go to congress, you wonder about the strikes in Libya which did no require any approval.

Hard to have an opinion as it is confusing. I assume the President tonight will talk about that potential deal.

The attached link is a very interesting piece from a supporter of the President.

Well said - in my 64 years I never thought I would see the day the US was no longer able to secure that peace and stability you speak of. Being overshadowed by Putin is a slap in our collective face and certainly changes our position in the world.

The worlds population is too large. It really does need cutting...by half or more...it's not sustainable.

Don't trust ANY side...