The Secretary of State since 2013, John Kerry has held the post through a number of American wars. In his own mind, however, the most prominent war is the one that got away, the announced summer of 2013 US attack on Syria, which never ultimately materialized.
Kerry insisted that not attacking Syria in 2013 had “cost” the US in its reputation in the Middle East. During the lead-up to the already announced war, President Obama appointed Kerry the “chief advocate” of the war. Kerry repeatedly claimed “everyone knows” Syria had used chemical weapons and that the US had to attack them as a result.
Kerry went on to insist that it wasn’t his nor President Obama’s fault that the war didn’t happen, insisting Obama “never made a decision not to bomb” Syria. Rather, he simply wasn’t able to get Congressional support for the war. Kerry claimed he’d gotten a deal to get the chemical weapons out of Syria because they couldn’t get the war vote through.
Kerry insisted, however, that the US is “on the right course” now with all their current wars, so long as they “do not retreat.” The US did manage to get some troops into Syria in 2015, though it was a smaller number, and not explicitly centered around a US-imposed regime change.
Kerry need not worry Since when did he learn the United States could gain more respect in the middle east by bombing Syria because Syrians used gas . It matters not to Kerry which Syrians used the gas only that gas was used . Kerry does not seem to realize that this very web site played a very big part in notifying congress that we don’t believe bombing people is a good way to gain respect . I know Kerry wanted regime change and he did finally get regime change but I don’t this is the regime change Kerry wanted
True except that it was the President who pushed for his earlier demand of regime change in Syria following the 2011 supposedly “successful” regime change in Libya. Kerry merely was his mailman.
As success breeds success so failure breeds failure.
Fortunately our nation and congress did not stomach a repeat of the “Saddam has weapons of mass destruction” lie with Assad replacing Saddam and chlorine gas replacing the “mushroom cloud”. A majority of our nation was against “crossing the red line”. Obama’s savior? Putin!
Revisionist = Kerry.
Obama learned from British intelligence services that the chemical attack which had been attributed to Syrian forces was actually a false flag event by the Rebels and likely with Turkish complicity to drag the U.S. into the fray. He didn’t fall for it.
Instead, like the Prime Minister of Britain who submitted the issue of war or peace to the British Parliament which chose peace, Obama submitted the issue to the Congress which followed the Parliament’s lead and denied a war authorization.
Obama did the right thing. He didn’t like being played for a dunce. And, he, for once, demanded that the Congress do its Constitutional duty and decide the issue of war and peace.
LF
Oh yeah, that would have been a bright plan, make even worse enemies out of 20 million Syrians, plus the Lebanese, plus the Russians who had bases there. Evidently Mr. Kohn (his real last name) never learned from Vietnam, and his protest against that war was nothing but opportunistic posturing.
His “real last name” is Kerry. His grandparents changed their name from Kohn.
Thank you for confirming that Thomas. If Jason Jensen’s grandfather’s name were Hitler? Well, I somehow think you’d be singing a different tune.
I’m not sure what different tune you think I’d be singing. If I was born with the last name Hitler, I’d change it ASAP. And I wouldn’t blame my grandchildren for me having been born with that last name.
Apparently Kerry’s grandparents thought their name wasn’t American enough, or wasn’t Catholic enough, or something. Why his grandparents’ decision to change their name would have any bearing whatsoever on HIM, I can’t imagine. It seems fairly obvious that someone is looking for a Grand Jewish Conspiracy or something.
Not going into Syria is one of the smart things Obonzo did.
He’s right that Obama “never made a decision to not bomb Syria”. It was Putin who out-maneuvered Obama and Kerry by getting Assad to dump his chemical weapons. Unlike some “experts” like Gareth Porter who think Obama was “reluctant” to bomb Syria, I knew all along Obama was intent on doing so. This is proved by the THREE UNSC Resolutions that had Chapter 7 language in them that had to be vetoed by Russia and China, who were burned over Libya.
That was the first time Putin out-maneuvered Obama. He did it twice more – once in fall, 2015, by intervening militarily in Syria. And then again, a couple months ago when Russia said in no uncertain terms that anyone attacking Syrian or Russian forces would be shot down.
Obama has been ready and willing to attack Syria for several years. He simply couldn’t find the right “justification” once the chemical weapons thing was over.