Reuters Breaking: U.S., Russia agree deal on Syria chemical weapons

[Cooley Hurd]

Last edited Sat Sep 14, 2013, 09:06 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - The United States and Russia have agreed on a proposal to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons arsenal, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Saturday after nearly three days of talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Kerry said that, under the pact, Syria must submit a "comprehensive listing" of its chemical weapons stockpiles within one week.

There's also a Breaking News banner on CNN: Kerry: U.S. and Russia agree on framework that, if fully implemented, could mean elimination of Syria's chemical weapons

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/14/us-syria-crisis-talks-start-idUSBRE98D03820130914

---

The big question is, can Syria comply (i.e. a "comprehensive" accounting of the weapons) within a week?

On edit: David Kay was just interviewed on CNN and he has his doubts that Syria can comply within that time frame.

I'd hold off on the happy dancing...

[Bolo Boffin]

1. Dang, you fast! :D

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/14/us-syria-crisis-talks-start-idUSBRE98D03820130914

Here's the Reuters link.

[Cooley Hurd]

3. Thanks for the link!!

[DCBob]

2. Of course Putin will get all the credit for this.

Regardless this is very very good news.

[karynnj]

11. On DU - of course that will be true, but historically no

There was an article a few days ago into the back story on this and a Russian diplomat spoke of this idea only gaining traction "a week ago" -- meaning after the US threat to bomb. It did not come out of the clear blue sky.

If the best happens here (not a good bet), think of what happened:

- The US made a strong statement that at least somethings are off limits in war --- and were convincing in their ability to stand behind the President's word.

- A huge stockpile of chemical weapons in a powder keg area will be eliminated.

- Lavrov and Kerry (as representatives of their Presidents) also were at a meeting for setting a September date for restarting the Geneva 2 talks that Kerry met with Lavrov to revive last May - with both of them since then speaking of there being no military solution.

[jzodda]

35. On DU the hate for Obama will continue

I am sure we will continue to read comparisons of Obama to Bush and posters calling Obama every bad name in the book.

[lumpy]

46. Who says? What difference does that make anyway?

[DCBob]

56. makes no pratical difference..

but when you hear things like "Putin saved Obama's arse" or "Kerry is an idiot" said by many on the right and some on the left, it really makes you wonder what's going on in their brains.

[Little Star]

4. k&r

[Waiting For Everyman]

5. Here's BBC's story:

14 September 2013 Last updated at 07:12 ET


US and Russia agree Syria chemical weapons deal in Geneva


Syria's chemical weapons must be destroyed or removed by mid-2014, under an agreement between the US and Russia.

US Secretary of State John Kerry outlined a six-point framework under which Syria must hand over a full list of its stockpile within a week.

If Syria fails to comply, the deal could be enforced by a UN resolution backed by the threat of sanctions or military force.

...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24091633

[Peacetrain]

6. Fingers crossed...

prayers being said.. Let this be

[Gore1FL]

7. I would think they have a comprehensive list already.

This is something they'd want inventoried for their own reasons.

[Cooley Hurd]

12. Maybe, but with the country in chaos, perhaps they're not sure where all of them are?

I would feel better if the window wasn't so damn narrow.

[karynnj]

8. One assumes that they have the basis for an accounting already in

their hands. Mot to mention, any parent who told a kid they have a fixed period to do so, knows that if their is good faith - they are working at it and making reasonable progress - the deadline will be somewhat flexible in reality.

[Botany]

9. Guess those screw ups Obama and Kerry knew what they were doing after all.

Way to go guys!

No doubt all those DUers who called Kerry and Obama warmongers will be lining up to say they were wrong now.
Do I need to add this?


Fox News Headline

Obama gives into Putin and allows Syria to keep its chemical weapons.

[Cooley Hurd]

13. I'll feel better when it happens...

...but, given the time frame allowed for Syria to complete a comprehensive accounting of ALL of their chem weapons - 1 week - and given that the country is is chaos, they might not be able to do so in that time frame.

[Strelnikov_]

20. How long 'till the Reich talking point is Obama shoulda bombed

and is a weakling for not unleashing the JDAM's of freedom.

Within days all the Reich pol's who were going to vote against any action will be calling for carpet bombing of Syria, and that the Assad 'Regime' is the greatest threat humanity has ever known.

[Botany]

24. It really doesn't matter what President Obama does because their job is to find fault ....

.... with whatever he did or did not do.

A hurricane could hit southern Florida and Obama could fly down there and then jump
out of a helicopter and swim 2 miles in the middle of the storm through the everglades
and save a little girl from drowning and the right wing would say:"Obama steals food
from endangered Florida panthers."

Obama and Kerry got Putin and Assad to do just what they wanted them to do and all it
cost America was letting Putin write a snarky letter to the editor of the NY Times.

[YvonneCa]

34. Exactly right. Kind of sad...

...that it is exactly right.

[Jester Messiah]

23. Oh please. Putin is obviously the grown-up in the room.

He pulled Obama and Kerry's asses out of the fire, then tweaked their noses in their own country's newspaper of record. Just quit while you're ahead.

[Botany]

25. Troll much?

[Jester Messiah]

41. Welp, you've convinced me with your oh-so-clever image.

Obama is a god-like intellect who can do no wrong and CERTAINLY didn't badly mis-step in this current instance. Rah-rah-sis-boom-bah gooooooo Obama!

[Botany]

47. o.k. I'll play along please show me where Obama and his adim. made any ....

..... mis-steps in this problem.

1) Putin and Assad are going to do what we want them to do.

b) We get to stay out of a no win civil war in the middle east

iii) No americans got killed

4) We get to set the time line as per when Syria turns over its chemical weapons.

e) Putin (or his PR firm) got to write a letter to the editor of the NY Times to save face

BTW do not put bull shit on toast and tell me to eat up it is just country
style apple butter

[Jester Messiah]

50. The results aren't in question.

However, I believe they're being mis-attributed to some kind of Xanatos gambit (9th-dimensional chess or what-have-you) on behalf of the president.
First there was the waffling over red lines. Obama states that there are red lines that had better not be crossed. Then the red lines get crossed and Obama proceeds to sit on his arse for a month or two hemming and hawwing. Then he says "Well, they aren't MY red lines per se...", but then reverses himself again by starting up the tough talk (at whose behest, I wonder.) Meanwhile, poor Kerry is pirouetting like a ballerina on speed to try and keep up with his boss' position.

Eventually, tired of trying to strike the perfect balance, Obama throws the question to congress. This was actually a pretty good move, I thought, but then he screwed it up by backing the case for war. This pissed a lot of people off because we've got no business joining that war, but that's another rant. In any case, NOBODY was with him on this. He was headed for a sound thrashing in congress. His own party was abandoning him, and the repubs (aside from McCain in this instance) have never had any interest in handing him a win.

So, if Obama had lost the vote in congress, what then? Would he have proceeded regardless, drawing the ire of the entire congress (which doesn't take kindly to being ignored and dismissed that way) ? Or would he have said "Oh, okay. Sorry guys" and come off looking like a supine weakling?

Face it, if Putin hadn't stepped in, Obama's presidency would be effectively finished. As it stands, Putin comes off looking like the grown-up in the room, and Russia's stature and influence in the region have been much enhanced. The US has been sidelined. (Fine if you ask me, we really need to extricate ourselves from the area. We're not helping anything there.)

[Botany]

53. So you admit Obama and Kerry got the job done but they just did it by dumb luck?

They have skills.

I know I shouldn't feed the trolls by responding to you because your regurgitation
of half baked right wing / fox news talking points show me clearly who you are.

"Face it, if Putin hadn't stepped in, Obama's presidency would be effectively"finished."

Face it if a drop dead super model brought a pizza, a nice salad, and nice bottle of chianti and
wanted to do the dishes and paint the bathroom and spend the night I would let her.

[Iliyah]

26. Oh please spare me that BS.

If it were not the beating of air strikes from the administration your grown-up in the room would have never entered.

[cheapdate]

30. Haha! That's a good one. That Putin is quite the clever diplomat.

Boy, he sure made Obama and Kerry look dumb! (</end sarcasm)

[jzodda]

36. Why not go to Free Republic

Seems a better fit for Obama Haters then this place.

[Jester Messiah]

40. That's rich. I think you've got more in common with them than I do.

The only difference between them and you is whose flag you mindlessly salute. For myself, I don't want to see us start another war in some place we've got no business being. I don't want to see us dumping out more blood and money in the desert. That puts me at odds with our illustrious president, but I'd think I land to the left of him on the political compass, not the right. But I guess I need to fall in line and salute, huh?

[jzodda]

42. My point is simple

Its not directed at just you, but all the people who have been directing invective at the President. Why does the President have to line up perfectly on every issue? Meaning if he does not agree with you on each issue is that enough reason to abandon him overall?

Many here seem to be doing that. Abandoning him now when we are about to enter a period of heavy political infighting with the Republicans this fall. I don't care if you line up to the left or right of him, me or anybody else here. But why abandon Obama now?

What I said about Free Republic? Well there have been times these past weeks where you could swear DU turned into that place with the comments leveled about the President.

[Jester Messiah]

51. None so bitter as a spurned lover.

I backed this president through two elections with all my heart, the heart he broke when he descended into petty warmongering. But it's also a wake-up call, that we can't be blinded by the fact that the president has a -D after his name. We need to keep our eyes open and perceive reality correctly. To back the president by knee-jerk reflex is as bad as slamming him at every turn. If he does good, I'll praise him for it. When he fucks up, I'll call him on it.

[Botany]

54. "When he fucks up, I'll call him on it."

Boy did Obama and Kerry fuck up big time on this.

[blm]

60. Jester - you apparently haven't paid attention to what

Kerry and Lavrov have been up to since the beginning of this year.

Obama and Putin aren't as unfriendly as they wanted to appear. Assad had to lean on Russia and US-Russia saw there was an opportunity to leverage Assad from both directions.

Putin is pretty vain, and it's easy to use his vanity to get done what needs to get done.

You think Russia wanted those chemical weapons to fall into the hands of rebels who see Russia as their enemy?

You think Putin wanted a world war going on during their Olympics?

[blm]

62. Jester, you didn't pay attention to Syria issue this year, did you?

If you had, you wouldn't be making such an absurd declaration.

I don't blame you, really, since corpmedia has never bothered to wrap their brains around the quiet foundation building that Kerry and Lavrov have been doing for the last 8 months.

[YvonneCa]

32. Way to GO! EXCELLENT news. I voted for Obama and Kerry based on their foreign policy...

...proposals. Anti GWB. SMART policy. This is not a done deal yet, but I am not surprised that they know what they are doing.

ANY Dems that pay attention would know. I hope...if this works out...more people will pay attention and give them well-deserved credit. This is an AMAZING accomplishment!

[Botany]

55. yup!

Last edited Sun Sep 15, 2013, 11:26 AM - Edit history (1)

And Joe Biden knows foreign policy too along with liberal Chuck Hagel
who has seen war up front and in person so he is not real good about
getting our men and women involved in a new one.

they are the grown ups in the room.

[YvonneCa]

59. Yes. I was SO glad to see that FP team...

...in place. They know what needed to be done, MUCH differently than the policy of GWB.

[another_liberal]

10. I'll be quite happy . . .

Sec. Kerry really did it! He really came through for the people. He managed to keep us out of another war.

There's a good deal of crow I have to eat concerning that man. I'll be quite happy to consume every bit.

[YvonneCa]

33. Thank you for saying that...

...

[another_liberal]

38. My pleasure!

All I ever wanted from Sec. Kerry is that he find a way to keep us out of a new war. I thought he wanted the opposite.

To discover he has proven me wrong is pure happiness.

[YvonneCa]

39. ...

...

[karynnj]

43. I'm impressed nt

[lumpy]

48. He alway was Presidential material. Not too many people would be willing to eat crow.

[denem]

14. WP: "Obama administration (will) NOT press for U.N. authorization to use force against Syria".

The GIVE is worth the take.

[Cooley Hurd]

15. They don't need authorization...

[Comrade Grumpy]

28. Well, under international law, they do. But when did that every stop us?

I'll give Obama some credit here. He didn't go off like the Lone Ranger. He actually tried to build support, and when that wasn't apparent, he didn't strike.

[pampango]

52. BBC: Kerry and Lavrov said a UN resolution could be sought under Chapter VII of the UN charter,

which allows for the use of force, if Syria fails to comply.

The US-Russia deal on Syria's chemical weapons is a "victory" that averts war, a Syrian minister says.

The framework document says Syria must provide full details of its stockpile within a week - with the chemical arsenal eliminated by mid-2014. If Syria fails to comply, the deal could be enforced by a UN resolution with the use of force as a last resort.

It envisages Syria providing a full inventory of its chemical weapons in one week, all production equipment being destroyed by November, and all weapons being removed from Syria or destroyed by mid-2014.

Mr Kerry and Mr Lavrov said a UN resolution could be sought under Chapter VII of the UN charter, which allows for the use of force, if Syria fails to comply. However the Russian foreign minister said force remained a last-ditch option.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24100296

[Skinner]

16. Good news.

[Cooley Hurd]

17. I sure hope so!

[DLnyc]

18. Perhaps a political solution is possible after all

I really care more about whether the Middle East moves toward some sort of negotiated settlement, as opposed to spiraling into escalating factional warfare, than I care about which personalities get to be more or less popular in the next few media cycles.

Perhaps the world is growing up a bit, we'll see.

[Andy823]

19. This is great news

Hopefully this will work.

[bitchkitty]

21. Cautiously hopeful here. n/t

[Cooley Hurd]

22. Me too...

I'm not so sure about the time frame given - 1 week. Even David Kay said (on CNN this morning) that he has his doubts they can comply within that time frame.

Regardless, I'm hoping for the best, but holding off from popping a cork.

[libdem4life]

27. Very Grateful. Bombing takes second place to Diplomacy.

I give political, Executive Branch credit to Obama and Kerry...but at least equally to the American people/Congress, the Legislative Branch, for schooling this and all future administrations.

Finally, a majority of Americans against murdering people ... most often of brown skin ... we don't know, who haven't hurt us, whose presence is incidentally in harm's way of something we want, thus creating more generations of "collateral hate".

[sofa king]

57. Consider that the threat WAS the diplomacy.

The United States does not and really never has had decent diplomatic relations with the Syrians. I rather doubt President Obama could just pick up the phone and call President Assad even before the civil unrest erupted. The Syrians have never trusted us, as they shouldn't, because we were never their friends.

But President Obama can force a move from someone else. By beating the war drum, President Obama effectively guaranteed that the Russians, who have a HUGE interest in Syria and a powerful half-century relationship with Ba'athists who control Syria, would have to act.

The Russians have a critically important naval facility there, as well as parts and supply contracts worth billions, because the Syrian Army relies heavily on its Soviet-built mechanized forces and weapons. If their money or their docks are threatened, Vladimir Putin will pick up the phone and will tell Assad exactly what the hell he wants, which apparently is exactly what he did, with immediate effect.

There is further evidence that the US and the Russians colluded in these moves. The rather inexplicable pissing match between Presidents Obama and Putin this summer might better be explained now as an effort to publicly distance the two nations, so that the Russians would have a better chance of "persuading" Assad to drop the chemical weapons like a hot brick.

Whether he likes it or not, the President does have a responsibility to enforce previous U.S. diplomatic doctrines, including responding to the use of banned weapons (our own disgusting hypocrisy excluded) with "overwhelming force." The US and the Russians working together, by accident or design, meets that requirement in a novel and peaceful way.

[libdem4life]

58. Good points.

Especially paragraph 3 ... and the last sentence.

[tavernier]

31. If you gave me one week to paint my house

or else drop a bomb on my head, my only question would be "What Color?"

[JDPriestly]

29. This is a great solution because it does not give an advantage to either side and reduces

our involvement in Syria's civil war to a minimum. We have no business determining the outcome, at least not at this point. We don't really know how our favoring one group or another might completely tip things in a way that could greatly harm the world and the Middle East.

Sometimes, when the facts are murky and we step in without knowing what we are doing, good intentions lead to terrible outcomes.

That is the danger in Syria.

[karynnj]

44. In addition to this, Lavrov and Kerry want Geneva 2 to procede

That is the attempt to get a political solution to the entire mess.

[daleo]

37. Hopefully the U.S. and Russia will finish destroying their own stockpiles soon

They haven been at it for decades. It is no small task, even for countries that are not war-torn.

[Scurrilous]

45. K & R

[Sunlei]

49. best case positive progress, I hope this works!

[awoke_in_2003]

61. Comply in a week?...

I doubt it. We will be bombing them soon.