The Russian Blitzkrieg on Aleppo Is a Direct Challenge to Washington
The Syrian cease-fire was already in tatters. But the new offensive is also early preparation for a hawkish Clinton presidency. What are we to make of events in Syria now that Secretary of State Kerry’s latest (and very possibly last)…
Why the Kerry-Lavrov Syrian Ceasefire–the 9th Try–Better Hold
After a long walk on a stony path in the wee hours of Saturday in Geneva, Secretary of State John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov, his Russian counterpart, finally reached a Syrian ceasefire agreement – again. A week-long “cessation of hostilities”…
Why It’s Time to Rethink Our Pointless Standoff with Russia
The following column was filed June 5, 2016, and not published. Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s widely respected foreign minister, dropped a big one here over the weekend. After an hourlong conversation with John Kerry Friday, Lavrov asserted in nationally televised remarks…
A Lame UN Peace Plan for Syria Is Quickly Eclipsed by Saudi Arabia
The U.N. Security Council finally passed a resolution Friday authorizing a plan to end the war that has torn Syria to shreds. Does this open a new, decisive chapter in the four-year crisis? Or will it turn out to be…
Defense and State In a Tug of War Over Obama’s Syria Policy
For many of us, the news last week that President Obama is sending U.S. Special Forces to Syria to oversee the training of Syrian rebels fighting ISIS is confusing. It begs the question—what exactly is the Obama administration’s policy, strategy,…
Kerry-Putin Talks Could Deliver a Global Surprise
At 8:12 a.m. last Tuesday, Secretary of State Kerry Tweeted from Sochi, the Black Sea resort, with this mind-blower: “Had frank discussions with President #Putin& FM #Lavrov on key issues including #IranTalks, #Syria, #Ukraine.” In 140 characters and a photograph,…
Someone teach John Kerry about history!
There’s a reason why Putin makes Kerry and the president look clownish: He understands the history others forget Many Americans flinch from the latest turn in the Ukraine crisis now that Vladimir Putin has taken control of it. It was…
Why Syria Is Obama’s Foreign Policy Proving Ground
It is getting hard to count all the surprises arising from the Syrian crisis. And there are more coming. Outcomes unthinkable even a week ago can now be responsibly imagined—and pursued. Atop this columnist’s wish list: (1) Relations between Washington…
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