U-Turn? Kerry Now Says: ‘U.S. NOT Seeking Regime Change in Syria’
by Patrick Henningsen - 21wire
December 17, 2015
Surely, this is important news – but if you live in the United States, you wouldn’t know it ever happened. US Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Moscow earlier this week and following a meeting with Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. What came out of this conversation is a major departure up to this point in western foreign policy.
While US Republican Party debutantes were competing to see which candidate would be the toughest in “standing up against Russia,” and endless shilling for regime change in Syria, with GOP runners Marco Rubio, John Kasich and Carly Fiorina all screaming that, “Assad must go”… Secretary Kerry made a stunning admission which was blacked-out by the entire US mainstream media, and drowned-out online because of Donald Trump and the GOP circus:
“The United States and our partners are not seeking so-called regime change,” said Kerry.
This is a complete u-turn position from what Washington and its allies have been saying for the last 4 years. Why now? What happened to Kerry’s previous claims likening Assad to Hitler?
Perhaps it’s just gravity bringing down Washington’s hollow rhetoric, or maybe Washington is preparing another bait and switch? What is Washington and its NATO allies really planning now?
Regarding Russia, Kerry is now claiming that the focus is no longer about “our differences about what can or cannot be done immediately about Assad,” but rather, about facilitating a ‘peace process’ whereby, “Syrians will be making decisions for the future of Syria.”
This almost sounds too good to be true. Time will tell what Washington’s true intentions are with this latest strategic PR move.
In the coming days, another major international conference with be held in New York City on the subject of Syria, at which time Kerry is expected to clarify (or alter, or reverse, who really knows) and perhaps expand on this statement.
More analysis here…
GLUTEN FREE? US Sec. State John Kerry busy sampling the local
delicacies in Moscow.
Jason Ditz - Antiwar.com
During his visit to Moscow, Secretary of State John Kerry talked at length with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and came out of those talks with a shocking declaration that “the United States and its partners are not seeking regime change in Syria.”
The declaration is not only bizarre, in that many of America’s “partners” in Syria are rebel factions formed explicitly to oust the government, but because Kerry himself, as well as other high-ranking US officials, have been openly demanding unconditional regime change for several years now.
Syrian president Bashar al Assad can’t believe whathe’s hearing.
Kerry went into his Moscow visit saying Assad’s future would be a topic of discussion with Russian officials, which itself raised eyebrows since US officials have long insisted Assad has no future. Kerry doubled down on this, however, insisting that the US and Russia see Syria’s future fundamentally the same way.
Russian officials have been much more forthcoming about their specific view of Syria’s future than the US previously has, offering proposals for a settlement between Assad and secular rebels leading to the drafting of a new constitution and free elections. The US had previously been seen objecting to that plan on the grounds that it didn’t rule out Assad and other key government officials participating in future elections, with Russia has long maintained they don’t want to dictate who is allowed to run.
The US has previously had officials hint that their stance on Syria could change, but this is the first time such a high-profile official has openly renounced regime change. That it was Kerry is particularly noteworthy since Kerry led the failed 2013 effort to get Congress to approve of a US invasion to impose regime change there, repeatedly likening Assad to Hitler during the effort.
READ MORE SYRIA NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Syria Files
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