U.S. suspends talks with Russia on Syria ceasefire

[karynnj]

13. I have

This was a deal where the US moved considerably to try to end the bloodshed. The NYT released bits of Kerry speaking in private to the Syrian rebels. What was new in that, but got pretty little coverage was that the agreement allowed Assad to be on the ballot when they would eventually vote. In addition, Kerry in comments given from the State Department explicitly said that the rebels had to separate from Al Nusra -- even saying that allowing any support for Al Nusra was crazy. In fact, the neo cons and right wing attacked Kerry and Obama over those leaks - saying they conceded much too much.

In return, Syria had to allow unfettered access to humanitarian aid. They allowed NOTHING for the first 5 days. This was before the accidental US/Allies attack on the Syrian base. The US quickly acknowledged the mistake in their attack. Notably, they had deconflicted with Russia, but the Russians apparently did not realize that the target was the Syrian army as the information was not precise enough. The US/allies had been striking ISIS in that area .. contrary to some comments from Russian sources.

What broke the ceasefire beyond repair was the attack on the humanitarian convoy that was well marked and known to all. Early reports from Syrian sources said it was "pay back" - ignoring that it was in no way equivalent.

Now, it is clear - Russia and Syria are going for a military solution ... and the utter destruction of parts of Syria.