5 September
...The unwillingness of US Congressmen (click here) to meet with a Russian parliamentary delegation in Washington, DC to discuss Syria displays US uncertainty about the availability of sufficient grounds to justify beginning a military campaign against Syria, State Duma heads said.
"By rejecting this dialogue the U.S. Congress shows that it is afraid of demonstrating the illegitimacy of its position towards Syria," said State Duma Vice-Speaker Sergei Zheleznyak (United Russia) on Thursday....
This is not the first time Great Russian Presidents have tried to appeal to the better side of foreign relations to prevent direct conflict.
By David Hoffman Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 25, 1999; Page A31
MOSCOW, March 24 – President Boris Yeltsin (click here) suspended Russian cooperation with NATO tonight and recalled his chief military representative to the alliance to protest the airstrikes on Yugoslavia, the Kremlin said.
The decision came after NATO military operations began and after Yeltsin made a televised appeal against the use of force. Yeltsin, described in a statement as "deeply angered" by the bombing, called for a session of the U.N. Security Council to stop it. Such a session was convened last night, but Russian arguments failed to sway the 15-member group.
The Kremlin statement offered few details, but Yeltsin appeared to be ordering a suspension of key aspects of cooperation between Russia and the Western alliance that were put in place at the end of the Cold War and followed NATO's decision to admit former Soviet allies Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
Yeltsin said he was suspending Russian participation in the Partnership for Peace, a military cooperation program involving 27 non-NATO countries. He said he was also suspending the Russian-NATO cooperation program that was established in the aftermath of alliance expansion. In both cases, the efforts at cooperation had gotten off to a slow start, diplomats have said...
It is a matter of respect by the USA to carry out diplomatic meetings with a country we value as a partner in a secure and stable world. Sometimes the demands for respect are not enough and the USA plows ahead instead. We have witnessed that before in recent times with Iraq. Russia was of the first at our side 13 years ago and that loyalty to global stability and peace was cast off as a malady less two years later.
We know the greatness of Russian peacekeepers when 1000 innocent people were killed by a renegade Polish President, yet today the rants out of NATO and the USA still don't recognize the strength of the Russian resolve in forming two new countries for the safety of human life.
The relationship between the USA and Russia has been hideous in the way victimization of a once great ally is forgotten for Cold War rhetoric still lingering in USA's dysfunctional political system.
It is more than sad. Two great nations cannot find their way out of a maze of faux hate facilitating war. Unbelievable, actually.
By VLADIMIR V. PUTIN
Published: September 11, 2013
...The potential strike by the United States against Syria, (click here) despite strong
opposition from many countries and major political and religious
leaders, including the pope, will result in more innocent victims and
escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria’s
borders. A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of
terrorism. It could undermine multilateral efforts to resolve the
Iranian nuclear problem and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and further
destabilize the Middle East and North Africa. It could throw the entire
system of international law and order out of balance....
I agree. There is too much at stake to risk this. Syria is in a precarious place in the Middle East for the USA to seek greater instability. It makes no sense. I realize we have Congressmen like Keith Ellison that have heart wrenching witness accounts of the brutality that currently exists in Syria, but, in the balance there is nothing that requires rockets and missiles. Quite the contrary there is every reason for peace talks and resolutions for power sharing relationships to insure stability and not dissolve it. This entire idea is counter to the best outcomes.
...Syria is not witnessing a battle for democracy, but an armed conflict between government and opposition in a multireligious country. There are few champions of democracy in Syria. But there are more than enough Qaeda fighters and extremists of all stripes battling the government. The United States State Department has designated Al Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, fighting with the opposition, as terrorist organizations. This internal conflict, fueled by foreign weapons supplied to the opposition, is one of the bloodiest in the world...
Exactly. The USA is disregarding it's own rules and demonstrates great emotional distress over the death of children. No one denies the death of any child is tragic and Russia understands that, but, this? What will ultimately be the outcome to the children of Syria with terrorist linked heads of state. It didn't go over well in Egypt and then there will be instability among the nations at Syria's borders.
And quite correct, this is hardly about democracy in Syria. It is ethnic. It is religious. The history of this conflict reeks of ethnic tensions. Sympathy is a good tool for these rebels. But, sympathy without sound policy and governance only leads to faux fronts for illegal and deadly regimes.
...From the outset, Russia has advocated peaceful dialogue enabling Syrians to develop a compromise plan for their own future. We are not protecting the Syrian government, but international law. We need to use the United Nations Security Council and believe that preserving law and order in today’s complex and turbulent world is one of the few ways to keep international relations from sliding into chaos. The law is still the law, and we must follow it whether we like it or not. Under current international law, force is permitted only in self-defense or by the decision of the Security Council. Anything else is unacceptable under the United Nations Charter and would constitute an act of aggression...
The loss of civility. The assumption of the Powell Doctrine that all power is forever the power that will rule all of the world without harm to USA soil. It has a great deal of folly in that assumption. The USA has lost it's rudder and the American military is a danger to all, including citizens.
Today, President Obama signed for another year an emergency measure that takes away citizen's rights. We criticized Pakistan's Musharraf for the same exact oppression of the rights of people for the sake of national security, but, the USA is exempt from ignoring the rights of it's people since bin Laden flew commercial airliners into tall buildings.
It would seem as though the USA once a victim is always a victim. Shame on the Japanese.
...No one doubts that poison gas was used in Syria. But there is every reason to believe it was used not by the Syrian Army, but by opposition forces, to provoke intervention by their powerful foreign patrons, who would be siding with the fundamentalists. Reports that militants are preparing another attack — this time against Israel — cannot be ignored....
There is information Germany has come forward with regarding President Assad's transmissions about the use of chemical weapons. Yet, Germany is not one of the five permanent member nations at the Security Council. It leaves a huge gap in the protestations of the USA against the Syrian President. The peace table is where all this belongs.
...But force has proved ineffective and pointless. Afghanistan is reeling, and no one can say what will happen after international forces withdraw. Libya is divided into tribes and clans. In Iraq the civil war continues, with dozens killed each day. In the United States, many draw an analogy between Iraq and Syria, and ask why their government would want to repeat recent mistakes....
I believe Iraq started this slippery slope, even the borders of Turkey have not been the same since.
...We must stop using the language of force and return to the path of civilized diplomatic and political settlement....
...I welcome the president’s interest in continuing the dialogue with
Russia on Syria. We must work together to keep this hope alive, as we
agreed to at the Group of 8 meeting in Lough Erne in Northern Ireland in
June, and steer the discussion back toward negotiations.
If we can avoid force against Syria, this will improve the atmosphere in
international affairs and strengthen mutual trust. It will be our
shared success and open the door to cooperation on other critical
issues.
My working and personal relationship with President Obama is marked by
growing trust. I appreciate this. I carefully studied his address to the
nation on Tuesday. And I would rather disagree with a case he made on
American exceptionalism, stating that the United States’ policy is “what
makes America different. It’s what makes us exceptional.” It is
extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as
exceptional, whatever the motivation. There are big countries and small
countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and
those still finding their way to democracy. Their policies differ, too.
We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must
not forget that God created us equal.
Exactly. What good is touting exceptionalism at the end of a missile. That was the nationalism theme of nations once engaged when Russia and the USA were allies in arms. I don't find comfort in being the world's last superpower. It has proven a burden to this country and to the world. It is time to return to simpler times when countries found common ground rather than one nation rampaging over the sovereign rights of others in a moment's notice.
Vladimir V. Putin is the president of Russia.
Let's hope this terrible chapter between our two countries ends on a happy note and better settled in victories at Sochi. I thank you again. This is the second time Russia has called on Americans to be reasonable in a measured way other nations can respect. I can only hope the USA returns to a posture of deserving of respect, rather than fear.
Wish you and your family well.
Vladimir V. Putin is the president of Russia.
Let's hope this terrible chapter between our two countries ends on a happy note and better settled in victories at Sochi. I thank you again. This is the second time Russia has called on Americans to be reasonable in a measured way other nations can respect. I can only hope the USA returns to a posture of deserving of respect, rather than fear.
Wish you and your family well.
