The White House said Friday that administration officials welcome and are looking forward to reading an internal State Department memo signed by 50 career USA diplomats harshly criticizing the Obama administration’s Syria policy.
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The United States and Russian Federation support opposing sides in the five-year-old Syrian civil war, with Washington backing opposition forces seeking to topple Assad and Russian Federation supporting the Syrianpresident, including with direct military intervention.
But the memo, filed in the State Department’s “dissent channel”, underscores the deep rifts and lingering frustration within the administration over how to deal with a war that has killed more than 400,000 people.
Russian Federation launched a second wave of attacks against the fighters despite emergency requests by us defense officials to stop the onslaught, USA officials told Reuters.
The strikes hit a base near the Jordanian border, far from areas where the Russians were previously active, and targeted U.S.-backed forces battling the Islamic State militants.
When employees feel their voices are not heard by supervisors and they use the Dissent Channel, Hill said, “policy planning staff is supposed to review it, circulate it to authorized people and get an answer back to the drafters”.
“The moral rationale for taking steps to end the deaths and suffering in Syria, after five years of brutal war, is evident and unquestionable”, The Times quoted it as saying.
Russian Federation and the USA have traded mutual accusations over the truce.
The memo, which the New York Times obtained from a State Department official, says American policy has been “overwhelmed” by the unrelenting violence in Syria.
“The talks focused on military cooperation between the two countries and joint action to fight against terrorist organizations on Syrian soil”, it said.
Whoever leaked the memo may have been looking past Obama’s tenure. That effort includes extensive bombing and other air attacks, which Washington and other critics have said is killing many civilians.
He denounced Moscow, charging that its forces were not directed at fighting ISIS but had “mostly supported Assad and fueled the civil war”.
The Russian leader said he expects the U.S.to work with its allies in the region to encourage the Syrian opposition to engage in a constructive dialogue with the government.
Kerry, speaking to reporters in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Friday, said: “I haven’t had a chance to see it yet [the cable] but I agree with the process”.
“Russia needs to understand that our patience is not infinite”.
Hillary Clinton, who in seven months could replace Obama at the White House, has long had a more hawkish stance toward Assad than the president, which likely would make her more amenable to the proposal in the dissident diplomats’ memo.
“And it’s necessary to think what kind of powers that cabinet will have”, he said.
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“It is also necessary not to go over the top in this case and it is necessary to proceed from present-day realities and avoid seeking the declaration of unfulfillable, unachievable goals”, Putin said.
