John Kerry and America’s Broken Will
Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday that the United States and its Arab and European allies will step up support for Syrian rebels if the Assad regime refuses to negotiate. Kerry made the statements during a news conference in Amman with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh. Kerry is in Jordan ahead of a June conference dedicated to ending Syria’s two-year-long civil war.
Kerry and Judeh stressed that their goal is to get both the Syrian government and the opposition into peace talks. Talks could begin as early as next month in Geneva.
[SOUNDBITE: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry:]
“If Bashar Assad thinks that the gains he’s made in the last few days are going to be determinative of this, then he is miscalculating just as did when he engaged in a struggle against his people. And the fact is support for the opposition is growing, the United States is providing additional support, more support, other countries are providing more support. And I am convinced that support will only grow. So there is no, in the end I do not believe there is a military victory for Assad that is going to somehow justify the gains he has made in the last days. What I do think is that he will ultimately realize, as will those supporting him, that this situation is going to get more dangerous, more destructive, and much more damaging to the prospects of the region, if it continues in its course, and hopefully they will come to the realization that it needs a political settlement.”
Kerry also said Hezbollah forces in Syria are contributing to the ongoing violence. Hezbollah takes its orders from Iran.
[SOUNDBITE: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry:]
“Just last week obviously, Hezbollah intervened very significantly. There are several thousands of Hezbollah militia forces on the ground in Syria who are contributing in this violence, and we condemn that and suggest that those who are encouraging it and support it should retreat from that position and obviously become part of the constructive solution rather than part of the problem.”
Although he declared America’s support for Syrian rebels, Kerry dodged further commitment. He said President Barack Obama will not send American soldiers to Syria. However, the administration has said it hopes to send non-lethal assistance to the Syrian rebels.
As Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has pointed out, America does not have the will to confront Iran and its allies, such as Hezbollah forces in Syria. To understand where this situation is leading, read Gerald Flurry’s article “How the Syrian Crisis Will End.”
