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Tillerson: Russia 'Incompetent and Out-Maneuvered by Assad'
NewsMax ^ | April 9, 2017 | AP

Posted on 04/09/2017 1:07:11 PM PDT by Jim Robinson

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says there's no "hard evidence" of Russian involvement in Syria's chemical bomb attack, but charges Moscow's been "incompetent" and "out-maneuvered" by Bashar al-Assad.

In an interview with ABC News' "This Week" aired Sunday, Tillerson said in his visit to Russia this week, he'll call upon Moscow "to fulfill the obligation it made to the international community when it agreed to be the guarantor of the elimination of the chemical weapons."

"Why Russia has not been able to achieve that is unclear to me," he said. "I don't draw conclusions of complicity at all. But clearly, they've been incompetent, and perhaps they've just simply been out-maneuvered by the Syrians."

Also in the interview, Tillerson said there's been "no change" to the U.S. military stance in Syria beyond the missile strike in retaliation for the Assad government's use of chemical weapons on its citizens, yet the action carries a message for other countries acting outside international norms.

The U.S. still hopes to shepherd a "political process that we believe the Syrian people will lawfully be able to decide the fate of Assad," Tillerson said in reference to Syria's president.

This week's airstrike "was a message to Bashar al-Assad that your multiple violations of your agreements at the UN, your agreements under the chemical weapons charter back in 2013, that those would not go without a response in the future," he said.

(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events; Russia; Syria
KEYWORDS: assad; chemicalweapons; nochangeinpolicy; noregimechangeeffort; onetimestrike; putin; russia; syria; tillerson; trump; trumprussia
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To: Grampa Dave
Syria, Iraq, Jordon, Lebanon,and Saudi Arabia are all countries divided up in a way that suited the British and French after WWI when they divided up what had been the Ottoman Empire.

They're all a mess that if left to their own devices would fight until everyone was exhausted and then divide into new countries organized along tribal and religious lines.

I wish we'd just pull out and leave it to em' to finally fight it out. I can't even count the number of times killed or wounded children from that part of the world have been in the news over the past fifty years and nearly every time there's had wringing over why aren't we doing something.

That's exactly what Turkey, the Saudis, and sometimes Israel, want, us to do something so we still get entangled.

61 posted on 04/09/2017 5:48:54 PM PDT by Rashputin (Jesus Christ doesn't evacuate His troops, He leads them to victory !!)
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To: hoosierham
Like the U.S. use of chemical weapons in Waco?

Give it up. I am no fan of what we did in Waco, but, there is no moral equivalency,.

62 posted on 04/09/2017 5:49:28 PM PDT by AndyJackson
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To: The Westerner
My hope is that Trump listens carefully to his counterpart in Israel who knows the real score.

Netanyahu praised Trump's missile response.

63 posted on 04/09/2017 6:57:48 PM PDT by FreeReign
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To: Jim Robinson

The jihadists have used US supplied chemical weapons (thru Saudi Arabia via Hillary- proven) multiple times...they have stockpiles of them...the Syrian Air Force blows up one of those stockpiles in a raid against the foreign jihadists that we created, funded, supplied, and supported...and we then blame the Syrians. Stupidity abounds. Oh...if we blew up bunkers of chemical weapons with explosives...wouldn’t that release those chemical weapons to the surrounding environment...oh, I’m sorry...I was THINKING again...just like I was when I watched all those pics and vids of people without gloves handling “Sarin Gas” Victims...because if it was Sarin Gas...they would have been contaminated and died...gotta stop THINKING...


64 posted on 04/09/2017 7:08:22 PM PDT by thatdewd (I'm tired of watching stupid people do stupid things stupidly.)
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To: Jim Robinson
No good can possibly come out of it.

As strange as it seems, one good thing that has already come out of it is that Russia declared (West) Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Whatever the motive (upstaging the US as when they supported the State of Israel before US), the deed is done and I expect many more nations to recognize Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel by Israel's Independence Day in May.

The next, as yet undetermined, consequence is North Korea. A Carrier task force moving toward the Korean Peninsula might be considered a sterile threat but for last week's missile strike. Now they are not so sure they can get away with thumbing their noses at treaties and resolutions anymore. President Trump did not ask for permission to strike Syria and North Korea has already crossed the line.
65 posted on 04/09/2017 7:22:52 PM PDT by af_vet_1981 (The bus came by and I got on, That's when it all began.)
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To: thatdewd

If the jihadists stockpiled US supplied Sarin, it’d be in “binary” containers and blowing it up would not likely create enough deadly gas to kill and injure hundreds. It’d be like mixing “A” and “B” cups of epoxy with a hand grenade, and expecting to get good adhesive out of it.

(I’m beginning to wonder how so many FReepers must have avoided high school chemistry lab class!)

By now, tissue samples have undoubtedly been analyzed in many labs, probably even Russki labs. There’d be no way to hide the info. if the agent was not Sarin.

Third, some first responders reportedly DID die or were affected, after handling victims. Additionally, in most cases, after about 30 minutes, victims would be safe to handle. Look it up.


66 posted on 04/09/2017 8:07:45 PM PDT by Paul R.
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To: Paul R.
If the jihadists stockpiled US supplied Sarin, it’d be in “binary” containers and blowing it up would not likely create enough deadly gas to kill and injure hundreds. It’d be like mixing “A” and “B” cups of epoxy with a hand grenade, and expecting to get good adhesive out of it. (I’m beginning to wonder how so many FReepers must have avoided high school chemistry lab class!) By now, tissue samples have undoubtedly been analyzed in many labs, probably even Russki labs. There’d be no way to hide the info. if the agent was not Sarin. Third, some first responders reportedly DID die or were affected, after handling victims. Additionally, in most cases, after about 30 minutes, victims would be safe to handle. Look it up.

Overly simplistic, to say the least..."Reportedly"...sounds like some crap out of the NYTs..."Reportedly"...sigh...is that all you've got? Look at how many handled them barehanded, plus the jihadists upload videos of them BRAGGING about using chemical weapons, but you make no "explanation" for that...and if you bomb a containerized stockpile...duh...use your brains to figure out what happens...stack it all together and then blow it up together...golly, it just might mix...except in your mind...Don't be a zombie...THINK...

67 posted on 04/09/2017 8:22:47 PM PDT by thatdewd (I'm tired of watching stupid people do stupid things stupidly.)
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To: McGruff

He’s giving the Russians a face saving option to deescalate.


68 posted on 04/09/2017 9:19:50 PM PDT by piasa
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To: McGruff

He’s giving the Russians a face saving option to deescalate.

And by leaving the runway intact we’re leaving them a means of removing the stuff as they did in Iraq if they choose to deescalate.


69 posted on 04/09/2017 9:22:10 PM PDT by piasa
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To: Drew68

Saddam Hussein’s foreign minister, a Baathist socialist and a close advisor who assisted Saddam inn covering up his human rights abuses and handled his bribing of western politicians, etc., was an ethnic Chaldean Christian.


70 posted on 04/09/2017 9:34:09 PM PDT by piasa
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To: Rashputin

al Qaeda’s not the only people on the ground over there feeding us intel.

We had people on the ground over there even back in the 80s when we were looking for Higgins and Buckley who had been abducted in Lebanon by Syria and Iran’s pets, Hezbollah.


71 posted on 04/09/2017 9:40:28 PM PDT by piasa
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To: RummyChick

Singapore is home to a few notorious fellows who help North Korea as conduits for trade in illicit goods and relations between Singapore and the Norks have been getting quite warm and cozy.


72 posted on 04/09/2017 9:44:50 PM PDT by piasa
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To: SoFloFreeper

The US government provided billions of dollars of weapons to and trained thousands of al-Qaeda allied rebels, many of whom later joined al-Qaeda or were really al-Qaeda the whole time. That’s according the mainstream media — NYT, WP etc.

For example, a group that fights along side al-Qaeda called Nour al-Din al-Zinki got caught on video beheading an adolescent civilian boy with a knife, claimed he was “spy for the regime.” Turns out this group was getting advanced TOW anti-tank missiles from the US gov. that made a big difference on the battlefield. The TOW’s kept coming and NDZ has been using them in the latest al-Qaeda lead offensive as part of al-Qaeda’s new alliance.

There were a few people in the media who raised questions when the beheading video came out, but it was quickly forgotten about and the narrative was not derailed.


73 posted on 04/09/2017 10:17:46 PM PDT by WatchungEagle (and over)
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To: Jim Robinson

putin could dump assad and still achieve his geo-polititical goals in Syria. Surely, there is at least one Syrian Alawite General less vile and genocidal than assad.


74 posted on 04/10/2017 12:31:22 AM PDT by elhombrelibre (Cogito ergo sum a conservative pro-American.)
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To: AndyJackson

Innocent Women and children gassed and burned alive by the U.S.government ,and no moral equivalency?

Doublethink GOOD!.


75 posted on 04/10/2017 6:16:25 AM PDT by hoosierham (Freedom isn't free)
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To: Rashputin

Excellent summary!

I would add what was done after WWII by the Brits and others to make the Ruling Sauds endebted to the dividers!


76 posted on 04/10/2017 7:26:47 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (The Democrat Party is the action arm of the Establishment Media. Thanks to Mark Twain for this!)
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To: Jim Robinson
Well I'm glad he has come out to make this clear. Was starting to think Tillerson had gone neo con on us.
77 posted on 04/10/2017 12:06:12 PM PDT by Sam Gamgee
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To: Rashputin

Brings up a good point. What about Christians in Saudi Arabia or Turkey and how they are treated. Maybe those 2 countries should be tomahawked.


78 posted on 04/10/2017 12:07:56 PM PDT by Sam Gamgee
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To: Sam Gamgee

ISIS’ capital is Riyadh.


79 posted on 04/10/2017 12:10:15 PM PDT by The Toll
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To: Krosan

They are coming from Syria, but it doesn’t mean they are all Syrians. They have traveled from Iraq and as far away as Morocco, pretending to be Syrian.


80 posted on 04/10/2017 12:11:17 PM PDT by Sam Gamgee
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