US Committed to Political Solution to Syria Crisis – Kerry

WASHINGTON (ST) _ US Secretary of State John Kerry stressed his country ‘s commitment to a political solution to the crisis in Syria, noting that the  forthcoming  International Conference on Syria is the framework to achieve that.

 In a  press conference  with his British peer William Hague on Wednesday, Kerry made doubled  standard statements by saying that his country is making  talks on  helping  the ” Syrian opposition” in the  war against the Syrian government and that efforts are refocused  on supporting ” the opposition  in order to maintain power balance  on the ground, while simultaneously  talked about a solution to the Syrian crisis through dialogue .

“Nobody wins in Syria the way things are going,” Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters Wednesday after meeting with British Foreign Secretary William Hague. “The people lose and Syria as a country loses. And what we have been pushing for, all of us involved in this effort, is a political solution that ends the violence, saves Syria, stops the killing and destruction of the entire nation.”

Despite increased support in Congress and the administration for lethal aid, officials said those closest to the president are divided on whether to begin providing Syria’s armed opposition with weapons or to consider more drastic steps such as using U.S. airpower to ground Syria ‘s  gunships and jets.

According to AP Obama’s moves throughout the 27-month war against Syria , from political support for the “opposition”  to nonlethal aid for its more moderate fighters, have occurred in close concert with America’s partners in Europe. All agree at this point that the efforts haven’t done enough. After meeting Kerry at the State Department, Hague also stressed the need for a political solution to end the fighting that has now killed some 80,000 people, without outlining how his government might contribute.

Officials said some at the White House, the Pentagon and in the intelligence community remained hesitant about providing weapons, ammunition or other lethal support to ” Opposition”  increasingly defined by extremists. Instead, they’ve focused on nonlethal support, such as Wednesday’s decision by the Treasury Department to ease restrictions on Syrian telecommunications, agricultural and petroleum transactions that benefit the opposition.

Even if nothing is decided this week, officials said the U.S., Britain and France, who together spearheaded the international intervention that helped overthrow Libya’s regime  in 2011, were trying to coordinate a common approach before Obama meets with his colleagues at next week’s G-8 gathering of world leaders. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Syria ‘s most powerful military and political backer, also will be present at the Northern Ireland summit.

On Wednesday, activists said terrorists  in a village in the country’s east, killed more than 60 people, including civilians. Earlier this week, a 15-year-old boy was executed in public by Islamist rebel fighters in the city of Aleppo for taking the Muslim Prophet Muhammad’s name in vain.

Approving lethal aid, however, brings with it an assortment of new challenges for the administration and its allies. They would then have to decide what weapons to provide, whom to give them to, what training to offer and who should do the training, U.S. and Western officials said. One Western official involved in strategy rejected the notion that weapons and ammunitions shortages were even the problem, citing poor military strategy and the inability of Syria’s fractured opposition to coordinate effectively against Syria ‘s more disciplined army.

T. Fateh