September 10, 2013
Crisis Averted?
By Brady Willett

A brief note following yesterday’s “Caution Is In The Wind


Since chemical weapons were use in Moadamiyet al-Sham on August 21, the U.S. has been readying to attack. Stymied by any possibility of progress in the UN thanks to Syria’s ally Russia, this attack has looked more and more likely as time has passed.  That is until yesterday:

Asked during a stop in London whether there was anything Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government could do or offer that would stop an attack, Kerry said that al-Assad "could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week" -- adding, "He isn't about to do it,..." CNN

While Kerry was speaking in unscripted ‘rhetorical’ terms, Russia and Syria nonetheless accepted Kerry’s offer. Suddenly the prospect of an imminent strike has vanished and a path towards ridding Syria of chemical weapons in a relatively peaceful manner is taking shape. It may be too early to think the Syria crisis is over, but it has clearly been taken down a notch.
 

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