I noted that it was idiotic for Secretary of State Kerry to be discussing with Russia's foreign minister a ceasefire around Aleppo, Syria.
Now, Syria is proposing to their friend and ally Russia a ceasefire around Aleppo:
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said on Friday he had handed Russia plans for a ceasefire with rebel forces in Syria's biggest city, Aleppo, and was ready to exchange lists on a possible prisoner swap.
Why would Syria, if they are winning their war, want a ceasefire to rescue rebels busy fighting amongst themselves?
In fact, Syria would like to pry apart the rebels by making some resent that they fight while others have a ceasefire; and to free up Syrian ground forces to face those still fighting on other fronts. Have no doubt, if Assad makes gains elsewhere, he'll return to the Aleppo front to resume fighting when he can.
And a ceasefire helps relieve some of the pressure on Assad's battered ground forces who are fighting month after month with casualties that have crippled morale in much of the force.
Russia, which helped Assad by getting that ridiculous chemical weapons agreement, will no doubt work on this, too. After all, Russia is working hard to support their ally Assad any way they can:
In recent weeks Russia has stepped up supplies of military gear to Syria, including armored vehicles, drones and guided bombs, boosting President Bashar al-Assad just as rebel infighting has weakened the insurgency against him, sources with knowledge of the deliveries say.
Moscow, which is trying to raise its diplomatic and economic influence in the Middle East, has been a major provider of conventional weapons to Syria, giving Assad crucial support during the three-year civil war and blocking wider Western attempts to punish him with sanctions for the use of force against civilians.
And look at what our "reset" partners in Moscow are doing:
Dozens of Antonov 124s (Russian transport planes) have been bringing in armored vehicles, surveillance equipment, radars, electronic warfare systems, spare parts for helicopters, and various weapons including guided bombs for planes," a Middle East security source said.
"Russian advisers and intelligence experts have been running observation UAVs around the clock to help Syrian forces track rebel positions, analyze their capabilities, and carry out precision artillery and air force strikes against them," said the source, who declined to be identified.
No "unbelievably small" actions for the Russians, no sir. Russia has people on the ground helping Assad's troops fight.
And remember, our village idiot of a diplomat just told Asssad he can't kill people with chemical weapons. No chemical weapons in those shipments. So it is all kosher with Kerry.
We, on the other hand, refrain from helping rebels with more than minimal aid while talks go on, revealing a fatal weakness of our diplomatic style: We don't talk to win. We talk to talk, mistaking the process as an objective all alone.
Russia is not as idiotic as our foreign policy brain trust. They want to win. If they need faux chemical disarmament, ceasefires, a Security Council veto, arms shipments, or Russian personnel on the ground, Russia will do it. They may be paranoid pains in the butt. But they are paranoid pains in the butt who know how to be an ally.
I don't know if Kerry will get his coveted Nobel Peace Prize. But he sure is earning that Hero of the Soviet Union medal--or whatever Putin calls it these days.
