Posted on 10/08/2014 10:05:23 AM PDT by keat
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry suggested on Wednesday that preventing the fall of the Syrian town of Kobani to Islamic State fighters was not a strategic U.S. objective and said the idea of a buffer zone should be thoroughly studied.
"As horrific as it is to watch in real time what is happening in Kobani ... you have to step back and understand the strategic objective," Kerry told reporters at a news conference with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond.
"Notwithstanding the crisis in Kobani, the original targets of our efforts have been the command and control centers, the infrastructure," he said. "We are trying to deprive the (Islamic State) of the overall ability to wage this, not just in Kobani but throughout Syria and into Iraq."
Kerry also said that he expected Turkey, which has demanded a no-fly zone, a buffer zone in Syria and greater effort against the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to decide "over the next hours, days" what role it may play against the Islamic State group, which the U.S. government refers to as ISIL.
France said on Wednesday it supported the idea of setting up a buffer zone between Turkey and Syria to create a safe haven for displaced people, President Francois Hollande's office said after he spoke to his Turkish counterpart.
Britain's Hammond reacted cautiously to the idea, as did Kerry, noting that it has been proposed for some time and saying it deserved close study.
"The idea of a buffer zone is one that has been floated. We have to explore with our other allies and partners what is meant by a buffer zone and how such a concept would work, but I certainly wouldn't want to rule it out at this stage," Hammond told reporters.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
No matter who, no matter where,
no matter when,
John Kerry (served in Vietnam)
supports GENOCIDE and SLAVERY.
Does anyone believe what Kerry says? Does anyone think he knows what he is talking about? Nope and nope....
Kobani opens the supply line from Turkey to ISIS.
Wasn’t Kerry an admiral in the Cambodian Navy ?
Analysis Paralysis. ..
Just amazing.
And there were people who actually wanted this nitwit to be president.
Even if it’s true, it is idiotic to say it publicly. Sounds like more CYA.
These guys have a history of sitting back and watching people get killed.
BTW, Kerry, what is our “strategic goal”? I’ve not heard one that makes any sense, yet.
Getting Democrats elected.
Since ISIS is rolling up territory, about to massacre 1000’s more people, creating massive refugee crises, infiltrating fighters into the US southern border, etc., maybe John Kerry can explain how well “going after Command and Control” has been working. The Kurds trapped against the Turkish anvil don’t have time for empty buzzwords.
Is ISIS centralized, urbanized, and ossified, with personnel concentrated in buildings, dependent on technology and infrastructure? Let’s airdrop SOS Blowhard into the war zone and let him take command.
we ain’t gonna stop them from taking the village, so let’s pretend that it doesn’t matter...
So John Kerry has finally discovered the importance of buffer zones?
Until a few weeks ago, John Kerry had spent his entire tenure as Secretary of State obsessed with seeking to bamboozle Israel into giving up its buffer zone — the West Bank — without whose protection hordes of murderous Palestinian terrorists would be able to sweep into Jerusalem and Tel Aviv as easily as hordes of illegal aliens are currently sweeping into the U.S. across our southern border.
But apparently saving Turkey — not Israel or the U.S. — from terrorists crossing its border by creating a buffer zone for that country has now become John Kerry’s number one priority.
“Since ISIS is rolling up territory, about to massacre 1000’s more people, creating massive refugee crises, infiltrating fighters into the US southern border, etc., maybe John Kerry can explain how well “going after Command and Control” has been working”
Exactly right. Hey Lurch, how about the slaughter of 1000’s of people? Your goal is to try not to prevent it?
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