Blog (commenti al post #271)

NYTimes.com, April 1, 2010.

After his meeting with Mr. Assad, Mr. Kerry said in a statement that the United States and Syria shared “a mutual interest in having a very frank exchange on any differences that may exist, but also on the many, many agreements that we have about the possibilities of peace in this region.” The United States and its Arab allies are hopeful that re-engagement with Syria may encourage its leaders to distance themselves from Iran, an economic and strategic alliance that Syria has fostered for decades.

CNSNews.com, March 28, 2011.

Doing the round of Sunday television talk shows with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Clinton told CBS’s Face the Nation that the U.S. would not enter the conflict in Syria as it has in Libya. “No,” she said. “Each of these situations is unique.” While saying the administration deplored the violence in Syria, she contrasted the situation to that of Libya. “What’s been happening there [in Syria] the last few weeks is deeply concerning, but there’s a difference between calling out aircraft and indiscriminately strafing and bombing your own cities and then police actions, which, frankly, have exceeded the use of force that any of us would want to see.”

Bloomberg.com, March 1, 2013.

The U.S. will provide support directly to Syrian rebel fighters for the first time, increasing U.S. involvement in the two-year-old war to oust President Bashar al-Assad, Secretary of State John Kerry said. The U.S., in its first official contact with the Free Syrian Army, plans to provide it with non-lethal aid such as medical equipment and ready-to-eat meals, and also will give the political opposition $60 million to offer basic services and better governance in areas it now controls, Kerry said yesterday at a conference in Rome of nations supporting the rebels. Kerry expressed strong support for ending Assad’s 12-year rule, while announcing limited steps that reflect U.S. wariness of getting drawn into the conflict and concern about Islamic extremists among the rebel factions.

theguardian.com, September 9, 2013.

The US secretary of state has said that President Bashar al-Assad has one week to hand over his entire stock of chemical weapons to avoid a military attack. But John Kerry added that he had no expectation that the Syrian leader would comply. Kerry also said he had no doubt that Assad was responsible for the chemical weapons attack in east Damascus on 21 August, saying that only three people are responsible for the chemical weapons inside Syria – Assad, one of his brothers and a senior general. He said the entire US intelligence community was united in believing Assad was responsible.

Business Insider, August 20, 2014.

In a heavily personal statement, Kerry mourned the death of James Foley, the journalist. He called the group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL), the "face" of a new "evil in this world," saying the U.S. would continue to confront ISIS "wherever it tries to spread its despicable hatred." And he said the group must be "destroyed. Later in a tweet, he went even further — Kerry said ISIS "will be crushed."