Breaking: U.S., Russia reach agreement on Syria weapons

[cali]

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Saturday they have reached an agreement on a framework for Syria to destroy all of its chemical weapons, and raised the specter of a potential U.N. Security Council resolution that could authorize sanctions — even military action — if President Bashar Assad's government fails to comply.

The diplomats announced on the third day of intense negotiations in Geneva that some elements of the deal include a timetable and how Syria must comply. Notably, Kerry said they had agreed on grounds under which they might request a Security Council "Chapter 7" resolution — authorizing both military and non-military sanctions.

The U.S. and Russia are two of the five permanent Security Council members with a veto. The others are Britain, China, and France.

Kerry said any violations will result in "measures" from the Security Council, while Lavrov said the violations must be sent to the Security Council from the board of the chemical weapons convention before sanctions — short of the use of force — would be considered.

<snip>

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/09/14/us-russia-reach-agreement-on-syria-weapons/2813195/

[arely staircase]

1. Well done, Mr. President, Sec. Kerry.

An awesome display of leadership and intelligence.

[cali]

2. I commend him from walking back from war

and I do think that took guts.

[arely staircase]

35. The threat of a US attack is what led to this.

Obama making it loud and clear that he was going to attack Assad whether anyone else liked it or not is the only reason this is happening. Assad has agreed to this out of fear of Obama's threats. That is clear.

[morningfog]

9. I give them credit for agility and good faith diplomacy after a ham-handed war pitch failed.

When the diplomatic opportunity arose, however it happened, they seemingly sat at the table with as much gusto as they prepared for war. The US was not stubborn when it came down to the agreements.

I am pleased and supportive of a non-military solution to the problem of chemical weapons being used.

And while this agreement matches what I saw as the objective, it doesn't fully comport with what Kerry and the President stated as objectives over the past two weeks. They really gave a lot to get here and I commend that.

[Skidmore]

11. I think that the threat was part of the

Last edited Sat Sep 14, 2013, 10:03 AM - Edit history (1)

equation. It was put out there and is still there essentially. It had to be credible. Assad was going to cough up his CW because he is a nice guy? He had to be presented with a strong consequence for not engaging. That threat was a big stick. It needed to be there.

[YvonneCa]

31. EXACTLY. For those here who are willing to give Obama and Kerry some credit...

...for this (that maybe they actually knew what they were doing), I still recommend this CSpan video:

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/USForeignPolicy112

This is Secretary Kerry speaking at Georgetown University in 2005 on a foreign policy that is different from GW Bush and WHY that is important. The audience is students going into foreign service. He talks about Iraq...it was 2005...but the Q and A is about the Middle East, including Syria.

President Obama and John Kerry agree on most foreign policy issues.I voted for President Obama TWICE because of how his foreign policy would NOT be Bush and Cheney...and it is NOT.

I hope some here will watch...not to agree with me...but just to clarify the difference between Bush policy of 'pre-emptive war' from that of Obama and Kerry 'use all the FP tools' to resolve internation conflict.That includes diplomacy, sanctions, aid money and yes, military power.

Peace.

[treestar]

26. +1

Sitting back waiting for the credit to go to others.

[grahamhgreen]

33. Well done, us:)

[wandy]

3. Well this should please the republicans in congress greatly...........

Not only do they not have to deal with a serious situation they can......
1) Go back to the important business of trying to repeal Obamacare.
2) Further damage the US credit rating by threatening to shut down the government and default on loans.
3) Whine that Obama is week and natter about selling out to Putin.
4) Collect donations from lobbyists while being one of the largest problems the country faces.

I am glad this appears to be working out however I wonder what would happened if they didn't 'dodge the bullet'.

[WilliamPitt]

4. Good shit

[leftstreet]

5. Good news

[Waiting For Everyman]

6. Surprised it got done this fast.

Well done, State Dept. folks.

[Cooley Hurd]

7. The key is whether or not Syria CAN comply within a week...

Last edited Sat Sep 14, 2013, 09:04 AM - Edit history (2)

Hopefully, they kept all the receipts so accounting for these weapons can be done in that time frame. But what if they can't? Given the chaos in the country, do they REALLY know where ALL of their chem weapons are?

On edit - David Kay is on CNN now and has his doubts that Syria can comply with the time frame given.

[morningfog]

10. There is always that possibility, but it appears to me that everything agreed to is possible

and likely.

[Schema Thing]

13. I don't think that's part of the requirement.

[Cooley Hurd]

14. Per this article, it is:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/14/us-syria-crisis-talks-start-idUSBRE98D03820130914

Kerry said that, under the pact, Syria must submit a "comprehensive listing" of its chemical weapons stockpiles within one week.

[Schema Thing]

15. ah, a list. Seems doable. Syria certainly had representatives

at the talks if not directly then in the form of Russia.

[MoonRiver]

8. Very happy to K&R!

[NuclearDem]

12. Fantastic news!

[stevenleser]

16. K&R. I will mark this all's well that ends well if this works out. nt

[Jackpine Radical]

17. We are not getting ourselves into another useless war.

While the events in Syria have been terrible, our unilateral intervention could not have made things better.

I salute Obama & Kerry for pushing us toward a peaceful result, but I think the path there was not a simple one. The British Parliament's lack of enthusiasm, combined with that of the American public and peoples of the world, plus our own Congress' hesitations, and of course Putin's cooperation all played vital roles. For those who want to think that Obama planned this outcome from the beginning, I would just point out that nobody could have realistically envisioned a plan that would involve getting this many erratic ducks in a row.

[JimDandy]

23. More like herding cats...

Fits DU too.

[LittleBlue]

18. No war, then, no matter what happens

Thank fuck.

[Barack_America]

28. No UN-sanctioned war.

The US will likely keep the threat on the table.

[Rex]

19. Great!

Diplomacy always is better then war.

[JaneyVee]

20. Give Obama another Nobel Peace Prize.

[cali]

27. lol. I'm sure you're not serious but still.....

It's become clear that the President both lucked out and was smart enough to walk through the door that was opened for him. I'm satisfied with that.

the claim that this was his plan all along is ludicrous. He backed away from war. I think that takes guts. He's not getting much from the U.N. The U.S. has agreed to take the military option off the table and the timeline is favorable to Assad.

[Nye Bevan]

21. Just a teeny little bit different compared to how Bush handled Iraq.

Congrats all around.

[JimDandy]

22. No war today. Good. It's like AA for the MIC: today I will not kill.

Each day, one day at a time.

[Zorra]

24. good nt

[spanone]

25. k&r...

[BeyondGeography]

29. Kerry says stop fucking around and two days later there's a deal

Seven days to hand over the weapons inventory, not 30. Well done, Mr. DU Punching Bag.

[bvar22]

30. Good News all around.

Is there STILL going to be a vote in Congress for the Authorization to Use Military Force in Syria ?

[Uncle Joe]

32. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, cali.

[WillyT]

34. K & R !!!