Secretary of State John Kerry is threatening to take dramatic action unless Russia and the Assad regime in Syria halt their military assault on Aleppo, a town whose residents fear they may be on the verge of “extermination.”
“We expect extermination,” said a resident in rebel-held Aleppohttps://t.co/vS1E75NPwf
— Blake Seitz (@BlakeSeitz) September 23, 2016
Four years have passed since Obama famously drew a “red line,” and promised to take military action in Syria if President Bashar al-Assad deployed chemical weapons against his own people. It has been three years since Assad crossed Obama’s “red line.” So what bold step is John Kerry planning to take in an effort to stop the slaughter?
The silent treatment.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Kerry threatens to cut off all contacts with Russia over Syria, unless Russian and Syrian bombardment of Aleppo ends.
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) September 28, 2016
Kerry announced his threat in a strongly worded statement, expressing his “grave concern” over the situation in Aleppo:
The Secretary stressed that the burden remains on Russia to stop this assault and allow humanitarian access to Aleppo and other areas in need. He informed the Foreign Minister that the United States is making preparations to suspend U.S.-Russia bilateral engagement on Syria — including on the establishment of the Joint Implementation Center — unless Russia takes immediate steps to end the assault on Aleppo and restore the cessation of hostilities.
Kerry even threatened to pull out of negotiations to establish a “Joint Implementation Center,” which is how you know he means business. The U.S. technical team might even have to check out of its fancy hotel in Geneva if things get hairy.
What form would suspending bilat engagement w/ Russia on Syria take? a 1st step would be bringing US technical team home from Geneva
— Laura Rozen (@lrozen) September 28, 2016
The threatening statement comes several weeks after Kerry “negotiated” a “ceasefire” with the Russians, who promptly began bombing UN aide convoys.
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof praised Kerry for trying “heroically to stop slaughter” in Syria.
Obama has been weak & unengaged in Syria as 470,000 have died. In an impossible situation, @JohnKerry tries heroically to stop slaughter. https://t.co/cNBIq79mOz
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) September 28, 2016
Kerry unveiled his strongly worded statement on the same day that Dutch investigators announced that the missile that brought down Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine was, in fact, transported over the border from Russia.
Investigators: MH17 was shot down over Ukraine by Russian-backed rebels using missile brought from Russia https://t.co/41F3SQeQQI pic.twitter.com/rQOYwv3IwF
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) September 28, 2016
In light of Kerry’s brave actions, it is probably only a a matter of time before Vladimir Putin apologizes and gives in to U.S. demands. Right?
GOP Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham were not impressed.
It appears there is some sarcasm in this new statement from @SenJohnMcCain & @LindseyGrahamSC on U.S. talks with Russia RE: Syria. Maybe. pic.twitter.com/F6vEkyRDv5
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) September 28, 2016
WATCH: The Media Wants U.S. to ‘Do Something’ About Syria, Forgets Obama Is President
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