Tuesday 27 August 2013

Drumbeats of War


Syriana: Official Tells CNN US Could Strike Within Hours; Russia Warns Against Attack



26 August, 2013


Things are now pretty much on autopilot:




WAR DRUMS: An official tells @CNN The U.S. could strike within hours- @PoliticaILine -Israelis scramble for gas masks- @TimesofIsrael




: An official tells @CNN: The U.S. could strike "within hours" if President orders.




BREAKING NEWS: @RepPeteKing 'I BELIEVE THE PRESIDENT CAN TAKE ACTION WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION OG CONGRESS.'





MISSILE STRIKES ON SYRIA LIKELY RESPONSE TO CHEMICAL ATTACK. CNN.
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And once again, here is the Russian foreign minister Lavrov warning against an intervention without a UN vote first (which Russia would obviously veto):






US State Department Indefinitely Postpones Meeting With Russia On Political Solution To Syrian Crisis



26 August, 2013



US-Russian relations are rapidly going from bad to worse to hopeless. As if open public disagreement over Syria expressed in every possible venue and medium, and foreign policy in general was not enough, now the two countries' animosity has spilled over into private diplomatic affairs.

Moments ago, AP reported that the State Department postponed a meeting, which was originally scheduled for August 28, with Russian diplomats on Syria this week to an indefinite future date. The meeting at The Hague was about setting up an international conference to find a political resolution to the Syrian crisis.

A senior State Department official said Monday the meeting between Undersecretary Wendy Sherman and U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford with their Russian counterparts was postponed because of the ongoing U.S. review about alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria.

More:

The U.S. says it has evidence that chemical weapons very likely were used by the government of Bashar Assad. The U.S. official said the meeting will be rescheduled because a political solution is still needed in Syria.

The official was not authorized to publicly confirm the changes and spoke on condition of anonymity.

So is it safe to assume at this point the State Dept is telegraphing far and wide that a "political resolution" has been indefinitely postponed? Or will John Kerry hold one more monologue tomorrow (for which he will be fashionably one hour late) explaining why relations with Russia are at a post-Cold War low?


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