Tuesday Open Thread 9.10.13

Sarah Palin, September 9, 2013.

Enough of this foreign fiasco distraction. Get back to work. It is time to bomb Obamacare.

I will now refer to Sarah Palin as a potential terrorist. Potential Terrorist Sarah Palin said today that she wants to bomb hospitals and medical clinics across the country, and she wants to bomb all those with preexisting conditions who can now get affordable health insurance. Potential Terrorist Sarah Palin wants them all dead.

Now, back to that foreign fiasco distraction…

So it seems that the Obama Administration has found itself a diplomatic out at the last minute, and it is one that they should take…

The New York Times: “The Obama administration has good reason to be skeptical of any promises made by the Assad regime or its Russian backers. […] Nonetheless, Mr. Obama and Mr. Kerry should pursue this possible solution. The removal and destruction of stockpiles of weapons would ensure greater safety for the Syrian people. And it would have longer lasting deterrent effects than the limited strikes Mr. Obama wants to deliver, without the likelihood of more civilian casualties. […]

The diplomatic proposal creates at least a pause in the action. It could mean that the United States would not have to go it alone in standing firm against the Syrian regime. And it could open up a broader channel to a political settlement between Mr. Assad and the rebels — the only practical way to end this war. It could also be a boon for Mr. Obama, personally, because he could take credit for pushing Syria and Russia into making this move.

Indeed. I don’t believe at all that this all came together by happy accident yesterday. Governments, least of all diplomatic departments, don’t move that quickly. Here, you have the US, Russia and Syria all pretty much accepting the deal in one day. No way. Kerry’s statement in London was not a gaffe, it was a pre-arranged trial balloon. How else can you explain Russia pouncing on it so quickly, and Syria agreeing to it so quickly? Obviously this was talked about during the G-20.

White House Spokesman Jay Carney pretty much confirmed it:

“Let’s be clear, what we’re seeing with the Russian proposal and Syrian reaction has only come about because of the threat, the credible threat of U.S. military action,” Carney said. “Before this morning, the Syrian government had never even acknowledged they possessed chemical weapons. Now they have.” […]

“I want to make clear [it] is something that we have been discussing with the Russians. Secretary [John] Kerry with his counterpart, Foreign Minister [Sergey] Lavrov, and the president with President [Vladimir] Putin in St. Petersburg just on Friday,” Carney said.

David Rothkopf at CNN: “[E]ven should it [the deal] blow up, appearing to consider it allows Obama to be able to say he had exhausted all diplomatic options to resolve the problem. And for the more the hawkishly inclined, it would also be seen as reminder that military pressure is often key to producing peaceful, political outcomes.”

But an associate professor at the University of Delaware, Muqtedar Khan, says the deal to turn Syria’s chemical weapons turned over to international control is flawed.

“No. 1: There’s no consequences for him [Assad], for having used the chemical weapons in the first place and No. 2, he’s free to do whatever he wants as long has he doesn’t use the gas,” Khan says.

He says the proposal is also flawed because there isn’t an inventory of Syria’s chemical weapons. To me, that is the sticking point: How do we know we have them all? Well, the answer to that is simple. You say to Assad that if it turns out that you did not turn over all the weapons and you use them again, then we destroy you. And then you ask for that authority from the Congress, and now that looks to be in the works in the Senate as well….

A powerful group of senators is quietly drafting a new proposal that could forestall military action in Syria if the country relinquishes its chemical weapon stockpile, according to a source familiar with the deliberations. […]

The GOP senators in the group include John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Saxby Chambliss of Georgia. The Democratic senators include Chuck Schumer of New York, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Chris Coons of Delaware and Carl Levin of Michigan. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the Foreign Relations Committee chairman who authored the use-of-force resolution, is involved in the talks as well. The White House is being kept apprised of the discussions, sources say.

The broad outlines of the plan would call for the United Nations to pass a resolution asserting that Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria used chemical weapons in the country’s ongoing civil war. A UN team would be required to remove the chemical weapons within a specified timeframe. If the weapons were unable to be removed within that timetable, then the United States would be authorized to use military force against the country, the source said Tuesday.

Booman thinks that makes the President’s job tonight much easier:

What the president needs to do tonight is fairly simple. He needs to explain that the credible use of force has compelled Russia and Syria to offer up Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile on a silver platter. We can, if Congress follows through with an authorization to use military force, simply box up all Syria’s sarin, and VX and mustard gas in crates and have them destroyed. Or not. Would your representative like to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons at no cost to the United States, or not?

People can argue about whether this was the plan all along or simply something the administration blundered into, but as long as the president keeps the choice simple and stark, it’s hard to see how Congress can refuse him his victory.

If this deal is in place, and we have a new Senate resolution calling on the UN to issue a resolution and for the UN to collect the weapons…. then guess what I am now?

A yes vote.