Juan Cole: How Putin Saved Obama, Congress and the EU from Further Embarrassing themselves on Syria

[Catherina]

59. Same here. HOWEVER. I think the hawks outweigh the level-headed people & are messing this up

Tuesday, September 10

15:32 GMT: With regards to the size of a US strike on Syria, Sec. Kerry told lawmakers in the House that the White House wants a limited strike that would pale in comparison to other recent military operations. "It's not Iraq, it’s not Iran, it’s not a years’ war,” he said.

“I have said that this will be meaningful, it will be serious, the Assad regime will feel it,” Kerry said, “…but compared to Iraq, Kosovo, Libya—it’s small. It is not any of those things.”



16:45 GMT: Moscow will propose a draft statement by the chairman of the UN Security Council, supporting the initiative to transfer Syria’s chemical weapons to international control, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The issue was discussed during a phone conversation between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his French counterpart, Laurent Fabius.

“(Lavrov) said that Russia, on its part, is submitting a draft statement for the UN Security Council’s chairman, welcoming the… initiative and calling on the UN Secretary General, the general director of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and all the interested parties to make efforts to facilitate the implementation of this proposal,” the ministry’s statement said.

During the call, Lavrov said described as “unacceptable” a French proposal to adopt a Security Council resolution blaming President Assad’s government for the chemical weapons attack.


17:00 GMT: Putin to RT: Syria chem arms handover will work only if US calls off strike



17:15 GMT: Moscow has called an emergency closed-door meeting at the UN Security Council to discuss its chemical weapon removal plan. The round-table will begin at 8 p.m. GMT.



17:20 GMT: Barack Obama and Francois Hollande have refused to rule out the possibility of a military strike against Syria, following a telephone conversation.

"The heads of state highlighted their preference for a diplomatic solution but they also underlined the importance of keeping all options open," said a statement from Hollande's press office.



All items, (except 'Putin to RT:Syria chem arms handover will work only if US calls off strike' which is under Breaking News) here http://rt.com/news/syria-crisis-live-updates-047/