Free Republic

Apparently, once again with respect to Syria, the White House was caught off guard by events they are frantically reacting to instead of shaping. Speaking to CNN's Jake Tapper, a White House official publicly responded to Russian President Vladmir Putin's New York Times op-ed with the admission that Putin "now owns" and has "fully asserted ownership" of America's current foreign policy focal point; pushing Syria to surrender its chemical weapons: “That’s all irrelevant,” the White House official said in response [to Putin's op-ed]. “He put this proposal forward and he’s now invested in it. That’s good. That’s the best possible...

Link only. http://www.usatoday.com/story/onpolitics/2013/09/12/mccain-putin-syria-op-ed/2803905/

Menendez: Putin op-ed made me want 'to vomit' By Rebecca Shabad - 09/12/13 10:04 AM ET The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said a New York Times op-ed on Syria penned by Russian President Vladimir Putin made him want "to vomit" — echoing a sentiment being widely expressed Thursday on Capitol Hill. In the op-ed, published Wednesday night, Putin again warned the U.S. not to launch military strikes on Syria. He maintained that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime was not responsible for the Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack in which more than 1,400 people died, according to U.S....