I took the time to listen to the full “here is our evidence” press statement by Kerry (full transcript here). This was a very discouraging experience. The bottom line is this: it appears quasi certain that the Americans will attack Syria essentially because “we are America” and because “its just gotta be Assad who did it”. Imperial hubris at its most pathological and compulsive.
It is also rather clear that the Americans will go for the “sissy option” which they refer to as “shooting across the bow“. Do these clowns not know that when you shoot across the bow you don’t hit anything?!
The other amazing thing today was the amount of caveats Kerry put around this upcoming attack. Speaking about the decision Obama is supposedly about to take Kerry said:
It will not involve any boots on the ground.It will not be open-ended. And it will not assume responsibility for a civil war that is already well underway.
Really?
This tells me that the American are about to do what is called “declare victory and leave”. They will destroy a number of (now empty) buildings, kill a few Syrians, and then declare that Assad as been taught a good lesson and that he will not use is chemical weapons again. And since he never used chemical weapons to begin with, it will appear that he “learned the lesson”. And then the Americans will be pretty much done because after that they will have very few options left. This is why Kerry added:
And ultimately, ultimately, we are committed – we remain committed, we believe it’s the primary objective – is to have a diplomatic process that can resolve this through negotiation, because we know there is no ultimate military solution. It has to be political. It has to happen at the negotiating table, and we are deeply committed to getting there.
Yeah, in other words – we don’t have what it takes to take on the Syrian military.
Good!
Lastly, and this is both disgusting and pathetic, is that the Americans appear to be totally out of touch with the rest of the planet, including the normally arch-faithful United Kingdom. This really is a crucial sign of decline that the US policy in the Middle-East got so crazy, so confused, so out of touch with reality that even the Brits are refusing to go along. And instead of pausing and asking themselves how they ever got here, the Americans want to go ahead at it pretty much alone (I know – Hollande and Fabius are so totally in the hands of the French Ziolobby that they want a “piece of the action”; and the Turks are still harboring delusions of regional relevance. But it is quite clear that the vast majority of NATO/EU countries want nothing to do with this folly).
Since the attack appears to be inevitable and imminent, we can at least find some solace in the fact that it will be largely symbolic and that the US will be alone in this – both of which are very strong signs of imperial decline.
The Saker
“I took the time to listen to the full “here is our evidence” press statement by Kerry”
Well Saker, you are made of sterner stuff than I :-)
But I did get the highlights and what strikes me is how they can’t even be bothered to go through the motions of even *pretending* to have evidence. I mean, at least Colin Powel had some props and power points and stuff. But kerry is like, ‘hey it’s Friday. Everybody knows we’re lying anyway. No need to waste everybody’s time.’
Who takes over in Syria if Assad is hit by our “shot across the bow”.
Saker, Last April Russian deputy FM Mikhail Bogdanov met with Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon. Do you think that meeting is relevant to today? Is it possible that Russia and the resistance front have long ago anticipated US military intervention and agreed upon an appropriate response?
Perhaps Russia offered its help and explained in detail what it would (and would not) do.
LOL at the French…
After Britain pulling out, you’d think that France would choose to have a serious discussion on the matter, and re-think the morality/political implications/possibilities of outcome etc.
No – if anything – Hollande is beating the war drum with more intensity.
It’s like saying: ‘See England doesn’t play ball, can we please be your favorite lap-dog now’?
I guess Hollande ate too much Freedom Fries…
Lately all French politicians are comedians. After the Midgetdwarf Sarkosy this Hollande cretin looks to be trying to surpass his idiocy. If the French people don’t protest against him, I will be disappointed.
@Anonymous1: Who takes over in Syria if Assad is hit by our “shot across the bow”.
Probably either somebody from his family or somebody from the military, but the point of a shot across the bow is not to hit anything, so this appears unlikely.
@Lysander:Saker, Last April Russian deputy FM Mikhail Bogdanov met with Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon. Do you think that meeting is relevant to today? Is it possible that Russia and the resistance front have long ago anticipated US military intervention and agreed upon an appropriate response? Perhaps Russia offered its help and explained in detail what it would (and would not) do.
Extremely likely. I am sure that the Russians fully appreciate the huge importance of Hezbollah for this entire region and that these two sides are in constant contact. I will say more: I am 99.99999% certain that Hezbollah has a full time representative in Moscow with whom the Russians can consult and who can speak with them when needed. By “I am 99.99999% certain” I do not mean that I have actual info about this, but I happen to know that this was the practice in quite a few West European countries that I knew. When I learned of that I was initially surprised, but they I figured that this was logical: any government with interests in the Middle-East *has* to talk to Hezbollah. I suspect that even the US and Israel have that kind of “off the record” contacts. Likewise, I am sure that Russia and Hezbollah both made sure that the other side would not be caught off guard by any reaction/response of Russia or Hezbollah to a US attack. Hence, they must have had a clear understanding about it. Finally, Russia and Iran are also in constant close contact and my guess is that they coordinate with each other each step they make. Being the weaker side, they must proceed with great caution and in cooperation with each other to maximize the effectiveness of each of their moves.
@Anonymous2: LOL at the French…
Yes, indeed, its sub-pathetic to see a “limp dick” like Holland trying to play a Zarkozy 2.0 by becoming Obama’s poodle. The tragedy is that the entire French political class is basically a hostage to the Zionist lobby, even the National Front under LePen’s daughter Marine. There is a strong popular anger at that, but the media is 100% rock-solid Zionist, arguably worse than in the USA. I feel sorry for France, I country I really like a lot.
I think that there is a real chance of violent protests and even local insurrection in France and that this will all explode sooner or later. Pauvre France…