It is now official that no dictator, despot or potentate will ever fear the United States again, so long as Barack Obama and John Kerry are driving our foreign policy.
After days of intense negotiations, the United States and Russia reached agreement Saturday on a framework to secure and destroy Syria's chemical weapons by mid-2014 and impose U.N. penalties if the Assad government fails to comply.
The deal, announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva, includes what Kerry called "a shared assessment" of the weapons stockpile, and a timetable and measures for Syrian President Bashar Assad to follow so that the full inventory can be identified and seized.
The U.S. and Russia agreed to immediately press for a U.N. Security Council resolution that enshrines the chemical weapons agreement under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which can authorize both the use of force and nonmilitary measures.
But Russia, which already has rejected three resolutions on Syria, would be sure to veto military action, and U.S. officials said they did not contemplate seeking such an authorization.
No wonder the French were on board with us. We surely made them proud with the depth and breadth of our surrender. A week ago it was hard to imagine this could become any more humiliating for the Obama Administration. But look where we are now. Let's review:
Obama draws a "red line," which is the use of chemical weapons.
Assad uses chemical weapons.
Obama declares the red line has been crossed and he has decided to attack Syria, and he notes that it would be a waste of time to seek UN authorization because the Russians would veto.
Congress asks Obama what would be achieved by attacking Assad. Obama has no answer.
Obama denies he ever drew a red line.
Kerry announces to the world that the attack would be "incredibly small."
Kerry goes off script and says this can all go away if Assad turns over all his weapons, which White House officials say was a blunder.
Putin declares he will see to it that Assad gives up his weapons. No one with a brain believes this is for real, but Obama "accepts" the offer anyway because he desperately needs a way out of the mess he created with his own words.
The U.S. agrees to a deal by which Assad ostensibly gives up his weapons, but not now, and there is no chance of military action to enforce that he do so.
Putin lights up a cigar and pours himself a vodka on the rocks. He has made mincemeat of Obama and Kerry.
Serious question: Can you think of a U.S. foreign policy embarrassment worse than this one? I can't. I hope that all of you who voted for this guy are proud of yourselves.
