After Syria Accepts, US says Offer to Call Off War 'Rhetorical'

[99th_Monkey]

After Syria Accepts, US says Offer to Call Off War 'Rhetorical'
John Kerry says Assad has one week to turn over weapons as Assad speaks to U.S. audience warning of dangerous consequences for its involvement
Common Dreams * Jon Queally, staff writer * Sept. 9, 2013

Update (12:30 PM):

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was for Syria giving up control of its chemical weapons before he was against it.

Jumping on comments made by Kerry earlier in the day (see below), Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov backed the idea of having the Syrian government hand over control of its chemical weapons stock piles to a team of international monitors.

"We do not know whether Syria will agree to this, but if the establishment of international control over chemical weapons in that country will avoid strikes, we will immediately begin working with Damascus,” Lavrov said. “We call on the Syrian leadership not only to agree on a statement of storage of chemical weapons under international supervision, but also to their subsequent destruction.”

Following Russia's offer, however, the U.S. State Department immediately backtracked, with spokeswomen Jennifer Psaki saying that Kerry's earlier comments were only meant to make a “rhetorical” point about the unlikelihood of Assad ever bending to international pressure.

But, as Agence France-Presse and Reuters both tweeted shortly after Lavrov's proposal went public, the Syrians seem very keen to the idea of a negotiated settlement over their chemical weapons:
-snip-

It remains to be seen how these latest developments will play out as official statements from all parties have yet to surface.

In the immediate term, however, what is striking so far is the speed with which the U.S. seems to have tried to close the door on the possibility of a coordinated resolution despite the fact a) it was their idea in the first b) it would ostensibly end the need for a war the American people clearly don't want and c) it would represent the kind of "political solution" that nearly everyone agrees is the only way to end the violence and bloodshed in Syria.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/09/09

[Schema Thing]

1. lol, your article headline is bending over backwards to be WRONG

the truth is found in the text:


"spokeswomen Jennifer Psaki saying that Kerry's earlier comments were only meant to make a “rhetorical” point about the unlikelihood of Assad ever bending to international pressure.

[NuclearDem]

4. No, that's exactly the point the title made.

Kerry apparently thought he could push Russia and Syria into a corner by demanding Syria hand over its chemical weapons, and when Russia agreed to that, the state department said "just kidding!"

[Schema Thing]

6. uh, yeah, no.

He didn't say "just kidding".


He said, "my comments about "Syria not ever doing it, and it couldn't happen anyway' where rhetorical".


IOW, "of course this has possibility if they'll actually go through with it".


But keep bending over backwards to be wrong. It's funny to watch.

[NuclearDem]

7. You don't seem to understand what rhetorical means.

[cthulu2016]

8. Seriously. You are mistaken.

[polly7]

2. Yeah, who didn't see this coming?

They don't give a shit about anyone gassing anyone, that was plain from the start.

[cthulu2016]

5. This is F'ing FALSE. Please delete. The article is a lie.

"Following Russia's offer, however, the U.S. State Department immediately backtracked, with spokeswomen Jennifer Psaki saying that Kerry's earlier comments were only meant to make a “rhetorical” point about the unlikelihood of Assad ever bending to international pressure."

That is a lie, and I don't see how the author can not know it is a lie.

The State Depratment rolled back Kerry's prediction that Assad would not take the offer. Not the offer itself.

[99th_Monkey]

9. We shall see, what we shall see

as it's still unfolding, I'm not about to delete anything .. but I'm hoping
Team Obama follows through and accepts this offer from Syria & Russia,
and we call off attacking Syria. <-- when this happens, I'll delete.

[RobertEarl]

10. Kerry is flip-flopping?

I mean one would think that our SoS would be one whose stance was clear as a bell.

Instead we all are left wondering what the hell they really mean.