Tillerson: Russia 'Incompetent and Out-Maneuvered by Assad'

NewsMax ^ | April 9, 2017 | AP

[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.

[cssGA30005]

Regardless, it’s got to stop - if only because it’s the source of all those (mostly Islamist) “refugees.”

if the countries invaded everywhere, gave shoot at sight order, all this refugee business will stop in a millisecond.

[Krosan]

Why would Syrians not want to go to the land of sugar and honey, Germany? I know they are not real refugees, but Syrians want easy life and money for nothing too.