Courtesy of Mish.
There is a lot of finger-pointing in both directions between the US and Russia regarding events in Syria.
I present both sides of the debate and an interesting video.
The New York Times reports U.S. Suspends Talks With Russia on Syria.
The United States followed through on Monday with its threat to formally suspend talks with Russia about Syria because of the Russian military’s role in the assault on the besieged city of Aleppo. The United States also shelved plans for the joint military targeting of jihadists.
“The United States is suspending its participation in bilateral channels with Russia that were established to sustain the cessation of hostilities,” John Kirby, the State Department spokesman, said in a statement, referring to the agreement on Syria reached with Russia on Sept. 9.
“This is not a decision that was taken lightly,” Mr. Kirby said. “The United States spared no effort in negotiating and attempting to implement an arrangement with Russia aimed at reducing violence, providing unhindered humanitarian access, and degrading terrorist organizations operating in Syria,” including fighters of the Islamic State and the Levant Conquest Front, an affiliate of Al Qaeda also known as the Nusra Front.
“Unfortunately, Russia failed to live up to its own commitments,” the statement added. “Rather, Russia and the Syrian regime have chosen to pursue a military course, inconsistent with the cessation of hostilities, as demonstrated by their intensified attacks against civilian areas, targeting of critical infrastructure such as hospitals, and preventing humanitarian aid from reaching civilians in need.”
US Suspends Syria Talks with Russia
Similarly, the Financial Times reports US Suspends Syria Talks with Russia
The State Department said that Russia was either “unwilling or unable” to get the Syrian regime to adhere to the deal and had instead decided to intensify military action against the opposition.
The US announcement comes as Syrian regime forces advanced on Sunday into areas of Aleppo city held by the rebels following several days of intense bombing.
It also follows Russia’s decision on Monday to scrap an agreement with the US to dispose of weapons-grade plutonium, another sign of deteriorating relations between Moscow and the west.
The US had offered to co-operate with Russia on air strikes against jihadi groups in Syria, something Moscow had long been pushing for, in return for Russia getting the Assad regime to halt operations in several contested areas of the country.
Within days of being announced, however, the ceasefire came under threat, first when US aircraft attacked Syrian forces in the east of the country — an incident the Pentagon said was a mistake — and then when Russian and Syrian planes bombed Aleppo, including a strike on an aid convoy.
The Kremlin said it would restore the treaty if the US reduced the size of Nato forces in eastern Europe, ended sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian conflict, and cancelled the Magnitsky Act, which angered the Kremlin by targeting officials implicated in a $230m tax fraud. The bill also demands that the US compensate Russia for losses incurred as a result of the sanctions.
Bill Browder, the London-based financier who lobbied for the Magnitsky Act, tweeted: “[The] Magnitsky case is the ‘canary in the coal mine’. Putin will use [the] nuclear card to openly extort the west in all areas as his influence wanes.”
Samantha Power, US ambassador to the UN, accused Russia of “barbarism” and war crimes in Syria, while Russia has said that the Pentagon worked to undermine the agreement which was negotiated by secretary of state John Kerry.
What follows next is a lengthy guest post, written September 30, by Bernhard at the Moon of Alabama Blog. The end of the guest post is marked. My comments and a video follow.
Begin Guest Post
Syria – The U.S. Propaganda Shams Now Openly Fail
