dagblog - Comments for "Vladimir Putin calls John Kerry a liar over al-Qaeda in Syria claims "

We seem, almost, to have one

ocean-kat — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 02:31:50 +0000

In reply to That's a long thread. I'll

We seem, almost, to have one tool and that's all we use.

I just read an interesting article on that issue.

http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/09/05/syria_and_the_byzantin...

Yes. And there was a good

Peter Schwartz — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 00:57:03 +0000

In reply to Strikes me that what's going

Yes. And there was a good piece by Ignatius in the WaPo about how the US is also not the country that spies the most on its own citizens with the least oversight. Seems like it's the opposite, only less publicized. Germany et al don't have their Snowdens.

That's a long thread. I'll

Peter Schwartz — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 00:55:28 +0000

In reply to I agree with all you say in

That's a long thread. I'll have to read when I'm fresher. I guess we have mostly questions and not many answers.

Ultimately, we need to find a way to move things forward without resorting to violence except in true defense.

We seem, almost, to have one tool and that's all we use.

Strikes me that what's going

artappraiser — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 21:39:24 +0000

In reply to We do deserve that. No

Strikes me that what's going on here is called spin. And they're both doing it.

People laud politicians when they give passionate speeches advocating one side of the story when running for office and then expect them to stop and give just the truth after they're installed. I think what's dangerous is when people chose the passionate advocacy in their journalism, too.

Which brings to mind, to anyone who has read long term on the Syria issue and on Russia, it becomes clear that one of the main reasons Putin has held fast in support of Assad is a fear of growth of Islamic militants. Despite a lot of blogosphere spin that the U.S. is the most deranged country about "al Qaeda," he and Russia have that syndrome much worse than the U.S. does. And in opposition to American belief (fairy tale-ish sometimes) that just setting up societies to self-determine, you won't tend to get Al Qaeda type movements and moderation will eventually win over (we're still trying that theory in Afghanistan, BTW,) Putin tends to believe in ruthlessly strong dictator or strongman types keeping a lid on that being the only way, especially in Islamic areas. And not without reason. See Chechyna. See the Belsan massacre. See bombs in the Moscow subway and etc. Does anyone really believe that he favors the Orthodox church almost as a sort of state religion because he's a true believer in his heart? Well maybe George Bush.

I agree with all you say in

A Guy Called LULU — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 19:13:34 +0000

In reply to We do deserve that. No

I agree with all you say in that comment.

It is not as if questions spurred by doubts are just now being raised simply to oppose Obama's intentions. I posted the following blog more than four months ago. I think it hold up well. No point I made then as a possibility worth examining seems to have yet been proven wrong. I think the grounds for examination have grown much stronger.

http://dagblog.com/reader-blogs/some-random-thoughts-syria-16623

We do deserve that. No

Peter Schwartz — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 17:23:02 +0000

In reply to That is very strong language

We do deserve that. No question.

I'd be wary, also, of accepting Putin at his word as telling the truth.

The US AND Russia should BOTH bring their claims and evidence to the UN.

Don't forget, Syria is a long-term client state of Russia's, and Russia has a big investment in keeping Assad in place.

In fact, if you look at who has more to lose and more to gain in this action, it is Putin, not Obama, who has an obvious reason for bias here.

Obama resisted calls from all quarters to stop the killing in Syria for the last two years despite a clear humanitarian need.

Russia, as far as I know, has put no pressure on Assad to stop the killing or come to terms with his people over the last two years despite their relationship.

That is very strong language

A Guy Called LULU — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 16:01:10 +0000

In reply to Vladimir Putin calls John Kerry a liar over al-Qaeda in Syria claims

That is very strong language by Putin. I do not post it as evidence that Kerry is lying. I, personally, am not ready to call Kerry a liar even though I would bet very heavily that he is at the least stretching the known truth. I think that Dana Milbank has it right when he says to Kerry, in affect, that simple assertions and claims are not good enough and that we, the American people, deserve more. We deserve proof that he is telling the truth.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-on-syria-whos-got-a-...