This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Mediator Brahimi blames collapse of Syria talks on al-Assad regime
- Collapse of Syria talks puts U.S. military action back on the table
- Indonesia on the alert for jihadists returning from Syria
Mediator Brahimi blames collapse of Syria talks on al-Assad regime
Lakhdar Brahimi on Saturday (Fars)
It’s not a surprise to anyone, but the Syria “Geneva II peace talks”officially collapsed on Saturday, with no date set for future “peacetalks.”
United Nations envoy Lakhdar Brahimi uncharacteristically assignedblame for the collapse, apparently to the Syrian regime of Basharal-Assad. He seemed close to tears as he announced:
“I’m very very sorry and I apologize to the Syrianpeople — that their hopes which were very very high, thatsomething will happen here — I think that the little that hasbeen achieved in Homs gave them even more hope. … I apologizeto them that these two rounds have not helped them very much. …
Unfortunately, the government have refused, which raises thesuspicion of the opposition that in fact the government doesn’twant to discuss peace at all. …
My message to those who are concerned in the crisis in Syria tothink of the Syrian people and their huge suffering which wasimposed on them.”
The two sides were unable to agree to an agenda for continuing thetalks. The earlier peace talks in Geneva in June 2012, and now calledresignation of president Bashar al-Assad, and instituting a newtransitional governing body with members from the former al-Assadgovernment, as well as members from the opposition.
The al-Assad regime wanted no part of that discussion, but only wantsto discuss “terrorism,” referring to the jihadists in Syria. SoBrahimi came up with a kind of compromise: The Geneva II peace talkswould discuss “terrorism” on day 1, then discuss the “transitionalgoverning body” on day 2, and alternate between the two topics onsubsequent days.
Well, the al-Assad regime refused to even discuss the “transitionalgovernment body,” and his spokesman said that the terrorism problemhas to be completely solved and agreed by all sides “with a commonvision,” before any other topic could be even discussed. According toreporters, the opposition were willing to be flexible and discuss allissues, but the al-Assad regime refused to discuss anything but theirchosen topic. This is what led to Brahimi’s statement,suspicion of the opposition that in fact the government doesn’t wantto discuss peace at all.”
According to Brahimi, a third round of talks was planned, but no datewas set. The agenda for the third round will be:
- Violence and terrorism
- A transitional governing body
- National institutions
- National reconciliation
Collapse of Syria talks puts U.S. military action back on the table
The farcical nature of the “Geneva II peace conference,” and itsinevitable collapse, while Syria’s genocidal monster president Basharal-Assad continues to drop barrel bombs on innocent women andchildren, is causing renewed debate in Washington over military actionin Syria.
The parameters of this debate are as follows:
- If al-Assad launched a second chemical weapons attack against his own people, then there could be a military attack.
- There are no plans for American “boots on the ground,” though it’s a possibility in some scenarios such as, for example, al-Assad’s chemical weapons fall into the hands of al-Nusra.
- U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel suggest that Russia may have supplied Syria with chemical weapons or, at least, the military equipment used to support al-Assad’s chemical weapons program.
- The majority of members of Congress are still opposed to military action under any circumstances.
If a U.S. missile attack on Syria is approved, then the choice oftargets would be as follows, according to Joint Chiefs of StaffChairman Gen. Martin Dempsey:
- First, targets “directly linked to the control of chemical weapons but without exposing those chemical weapons to a loss of security.”
- “Secondly, [targets that involve] the means of delivery.”
- And the third [group of targets include] those things that the regime uses — for example, air defense, long-range missiles and rockets — in order to protect those chemical weapons or, in some cases, deliver them.
Indonesia on the alert for jihadists returning from Syria
As we’ve been saying repeatedly for months, the war crimesbeing committed by Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad, andby Russia’s president Vladimir Putin for supplying weaponsto al-Assad, have made Syria the magnet for jihadists fromcountries around the world.
In Indonesia, the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) wasresponsible for the horrendous Bali bombings in 2002, but in recentyears, JI has become ineffectual. Now it’s believed that doesn’t offighters have gone to Syria for training and experience, and now arereturning. “The danger remains that fighters returning from Syriacould infuse new energy into Indonesia’s weak and ineffectual jihadimovement,” according to an Indonesian report. Central Asia Online
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