Kerry: Despite Syria, US Will Continue to Use Military Abroad

Seeks to Reassure Hawks that Syria Deal Isn't the Start of a Trend

The sudden breakout of diplomacy in Syria has left a lot of hawks disoriented, and Secretary of State John Kerry, the would-be architect of a war that didn’t happen, looking to reiterate America’s military bellicosity.

In an interview on CBS, Kerry sought to dismiss the idea that diplomacy in Syria was the start of a trend, insisting the military hadn’t been “sidelined” and that the US would continue to use its military “to stand up for our interests.”

Ironically the US military leadership was overwhelmingly against the Kerry-Obama push for war in Syria, and had repeatedly testified in Congress to that effect. Rather what was sidelined in Syria was Kerry himself, and the notion of war as the “go-to” response for US foreign policy.

Kerry’s interview in many ways suggests he is still in denial about what Syria really means, and he downplayed the prospect of diplomacy in Iran, saying Iran had to make a lot of quick unilateral concessions if it ever wanted to be treated as a “legitimate” negotiating partner by the US.

Yet whether or not the John Kerrys of the administration treat Iran reasonably is increasingly beside the point, and even if there is a push by them to get back to a war footing, if for no other reason than to prove that the non-invasion of Syria was an aberration, their ability to sell future aggressive war against anybody is very much in doubt.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.