[Centraal] Crisis in Syrië en Irak #436 VS is een schurkenstaat.

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Russia Must Choose Between U.S. and Syria's Assad, Tillerson Says
We want to relieve the suffering of the Syrian people. Russia can be a part of that future and play an important role.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson issued an ultimatum to Russia on Tuesday: Side with the U.S. and likeminded countries on Syria, or embrace Iran, Hezbollah and embattled Syrian leader Bashar Assad.

As he embarked on a trip to Moscow following urgent meetings in Italy with top diplomats, Tillerson said it was unclear whether Russia had failed to take seriously its obligation to rid Syria of chemical weapons, or had merely been incompetent. But he said the distinction "doesn't much matter to the dead."

"We want to relieve the suffering of the Syrian people. Russia can be a part of that future and play an important role," Tillerson added in remarks to reporters. "Or Russia can maintain its alliance with this group, which we believe is not going to serve Russia's interests longer term."

Since the U.S. launched airstrikes against Assad's forces in retaliation for a chemical attack on civilians last week, Trump administration officials have offered mixed messages about whether Washington believes Assad definitely must surrender power – and when. Tillerson said it was clear the U.S. saw no role for Assad in Syria's future, given that he had lost legitimacy.

"It is clear to all of us that the reign of the Assad family is coming to an end," he said. "But the question of how that ends and the transition itself could be very important in our view to the durability, the stability inside of a unified Syria."

"That's why we are not presupposing how that occurs," Tillerson added.

He said the cease-fire talks that Russia and Iran have helped broker in the Kazakh capital, Astana, could generate momentum toward broader talks about a political transition – if the Astana talks succeed in creating a durable cease-fire. The resulting political talks would take place under the auspices of the United Nations process in Geneva.

"To date, Astana has not achieved much progress," Tillerson said.
Tillerson spoke after a meeting of the "likeminded" countries was hastily arranged on the sidelines of the summit of the Group of Seven industrialized economies in Italy, days after the U.S. for the first time launched airstrikes against Assad's forces.

A key focus since the chemical attack has been on increasing pressure on Russia, Assad's strongest ally, which has used its own military to keep Assad in power. The U.S. and others have said that Russia bears responsibility for the deaths of civilians at the hands of Assad given Moscow's role in guaranteeing the 2013 deal in which Assad was supposed to have given up his chemical weapons arsenal.

The U.S. raised the stakes significantly on Monday when a senior U.S. official said Washington has made a preliminary conclusion that Russia knew in advance of Syria's chemical weapons attack. Yet the U.S. has no proof of Moscow's involvement, said the official, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly on intelligence matters and demanded anonymity.

That accusation will hang over Tillerson's visit to Moscow, where he plans with meet with Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, and possibly with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin declined to say whether Putin would meet with Tillerson, in line with its usual practice of not announcing such meetings ahead of time.

The United States has sought to minimize expectations for the trip or the likelihood that the U.S. will leave with any concessions from Russia regarding its support for Assad. Instead, the U.S. is hoping to use the visit – the first by a Trump cabinet official to Russia – to convey its expectations to Moscow and then allow the Russians a period of time to respond.

Though intended to punish Assad for a chemical weapons attack, the U.S. strikes last week served to refocus the world's attention on the bloody war in Syria, now in its seventh year. Diplomats gathered in Italy as U.S. officials in Washington floated the possibility of new sanctions on the Syrian and Russian military, plus the threat of additional U.S. military action if Assad's government continues attacking civilians.

At Tuesday's meeting in the walled Tuscan city of Lucca, the G-7 countries were joined by diplomats from Muslim-majority nations including Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. The inclusion of those countries is important because the U.S. strategy for Syria involves enlisting help from Mideast nations to ensure security and stability in Syria after the Islamic State group is vanquished.

http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/syria/1.782828

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What Is Bashar al-Assad Thinking?

The truth is, Mr. Assad had every reason to use chemical weapons, and little reason to restrain himself.

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Syria nerve agent attack: why it made sense to Assad

Joshua Landis, a long-time Syria observer and director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, said chemical weapons could be attractive to a leader running low on military alternatives.

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Op dinsdag 11 april 2017 15:50 schreef ElDinosaur het volgende:

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Escalatie, diplomatie en politiek.

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Op dinsdag 11 april 2017 16:25 schreef ElDinosaur het volgende:

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Dat het niet ingrijpen die nacht niet gelijk staat aan niet kunnen ingrijpen.

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Op dinsdag 11 april 2017 16:15 schreef Aloulu het volgende:

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Een slechte boodschap voor Poetin straks in Moskou. Links of rechtsom de Amerikanen gaan zich er mee bemoeien en het is kiezen of delen voor de Russen.

Moge God Trump beschermen en bijstaan. Amien ya Rab.

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Op dinsdag 11 april 2017 18:53 schreef Szura het volgende:
Hier broeit ook wat, lijkt erop dat ze de westflank van Aleppo veilig willen stellen.

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White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer compared Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Adolf Hitler on Tuesday, saying that even someone as "despicable" as the German dictator "didn't even sink to using chemical weapons."

Asked moments later to clarify those remarks, Spicer, speaking from the White House podium, said that Hitler "was not using the gas on his own people the same way Assad used them."
http://www.nbcnews.com/po(...)ssing-remark-n745241

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Op dinsdag 11 april 2017 20:52 schreef YazooW het volgende:
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twitter:

BraddJaffy twitterde op dinsdag 11-04-2017 om 20:27:30 Here's Spicer's answer about Hitler not using chemical weapons (he gassed millions), and his attempt at a clarifica… https://t.co/quMHtYBwRU reageer retweet

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Op dinsdag 11 april 2017 20:24 schreef Slayage het volgende:

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You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?

Eerst zien dan geloven. Obama kon aardig blaffen,maar zijn blof werd gecalled door de Russen uiteindelijk. Trump heeft laten zien dat hij het mogelijk anders zal aanpakken, maar als er geen vervolgstappen komen, zullen die paar tomahawk s weinig zoden aan de dijk leggen.

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Op dinsdag 11 april 2017 21:35 schreef Aloulu het volgende:Ff de voormalige trump-fanboys hier een oog uit steken. Trump heeft geen zin een door Iran gedomineerd Syrie. Dat is het voornaamste. Wijze man dus. En Assad dacht met zijn Russen dat ze Donald al in de pocket hadden dus wel wat Syriers konden vergassen. Miscalculatie.

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Op dinsdag 11 april 2017 20:52 schreef YazooW het volgende:
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Op dinsdag 11 april 2017 21:35 schreef Aloulu het volgende:

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USA heeft geen zin een door Iran gedomineerd Syrie.

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Op dinsdag 11 april 2017 21:42 schreef Stabiel het volgende:
Iran zal zijn huidige positie in Syrië behouden, met of zonder Trump aan het roer. Domme move dus. Want de Russen en Iraniers zullen hun steun aan de regering nu opdrijven.

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Op dinsdag 11 april 2017 23:08 schreef Djibril het volgende:
Trump weet niet veel van het MO, gaat zijn boekje te ver. DoD is in charge.

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Op dinsdag 11 april 2017 21:35 schreef Aloulu het volgende:

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Ff de voormalige trump-fanboys hier een oog uit steken. Trump heeft geen zin een door Iran gedomineerd Syrie. Dat is het voornaamste. Wijze man dus. En Assad dacht met zijn Russen dat ze Donald al in de pocket hadden dus wel wat Syriers konden vergassen. Miscalculatie.