Chinese soldiers present gifts to Russian soldiers in Chelyabinsk on 7 August 2013. Russian soldiers participating in the Peace Mission-2013 China–Russia joint military drill visited a Chinese cultural centre set up in the field, in which they enjoyed many aspects of Chinese culture. The American drive for global hegemony is driving many countries together… it looks as though more will join the anti-American coalition.
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On Friday, at a press conference following the G20 summit in St Petersburg, President Vladimir Putin said, “Will we help Syria? We will”. Putin added that the USA and other countries would make themselves outlaws if they launched a military operation in Syria. He said, “I presume that everything concerning the so-called use of chemical weapons was a provocation on the part of fighters who expected outside assistance, I mean assistance from countries that supported them from the very start. This is the essence of this provocation. The use of force against a sovereign state is only possible if one does it in self-defence and, as we know, Syria isn’t attacking the USA, nor was there a decision made by the UN Security Council. As one participant in our discussion said, those who act otherwise put themselves outside the law. At this time, which is generally difficult for the world economy, to say the least, it’d be counterproductive to destabilise the situation in the Middle East“.
President Putin pointed up that the USA, Turkey, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and France supported a military operation against Syria, whilst Russia, China, India, Indonesia, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, and Italy opposed the option at the G20 summit, saying in response to a journalist who suggested that the G20 divided approximately 50/50 over the need for a military strike on Syria, “You said the vote was 50/50. This isn’t quite so and I can tell you who was in favour of military operations. As you know, those were the USA, Turkey, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and France”. Putin went on to say, “Categorical objections were raised by Russia, China, India, and Indonesia and I’d like to call your attention to the fact that this is the world’s largest Islamic country, in terms of population, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, and Italy”.
Putin hadn’t forgotten that British Prime Minister David Cameron spoke in favour of a military intervention in Syria, but the British parliament voted down the proposition. He said, “The German Bundeskanzlerin is also extremely cautious. Germany isn’t going to get involved in any military operations”. Putin said that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon opposed military operations against Syria, too, but Putin also said that he was surprised with the positions of certain G20 states on Syria, noting, “Last night, the Indian Prime Minister unexpectedly said that he was categorically against any military operation. The position of the Indonesian President, which is the largest Islamic country in the world with a population of, I think, 350 million {VVP is a bit off… Indonesia’s population is a tad under 240 million: editor}, came as a surprise to me. The Brazilian President took an absolutely firm stand, and the South African President did, too”.
Putin also said that he had a conversation with US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the G20 summit. According to Putin, the short dialogue was friendly, although they agreed to differ on certain issues. Putin said at a press conference following the G20 summit, “This was a very substantive, constructive, and friendly conversation. At least, it took place in a friendly atmosphere. Each of us stuck to our opinions, but dialogue exists”.
6 September 2013
Voice of Russia World Service
Editor’s Note:
Russia’s upped the ante. Its forces are on enhanced alert and VVP made it clear that he was going to stand by his Syrian ally. I hope that the current imbroglio doesn’t turn into July 1914. I truly do… the USA is playing with matches around dynamite, though. If you needed proof that the USA, as a society, is juvenile, violent, and unrestrained, well, this is it. God do keep us… for it looks as though the establishment in the USA has committed itself to a death ride. May the chalice pass from us… please…
BMD
Voices from Russia 
US Congress Finds “Overwhelming” Public Opposition to Force in Syria
Tags: Barack Obama, Bashar al-Assad, Dianne Feinstein, Doug Lamborn, Elijah Cummings, John McCain, Michael Grimm, political commentary, politics, poster, Senate, Syria, Tom Cole, United States, United States Congress, United States House of Representatives, United States Senate, United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, US Congress, US House of Representatives, US Senate, USA
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After three days of non-stop phone calls from hundreds of Colorado constituents opposed to an American military strike on Syria, on Friday, US Representative Doug Lamborn (R-CO) announced Friday he was “leaning against” a resolution giving US President Barack Obama the authority to take limited action. Catherine Mortensen, Lamborn’s communications director, said that following the long Labour Day holiday weekend, “Tuesday is when the calls started, they’re still coming in, and I’d say fewer than two percent are people who want us to take action. People say things like, ‘We have problems at home we need to take care of’. What was surprising was how quickly people’s opinions gelled. They’re not lukewarm. Right off the bat on Tuesday it was, ‘We don’t need this’. It’s been overwhelming”. On Friday morning, whilst Lamborn was answering questions from listeners during a radio show, Mortensen said, “One man phoned in to say, ‘I’m in Afghanistan, and I don’t want this anymore’”. By the end of the show, Lamborn, a Republican, who previously said that he was gathering facts and hadn’t made up his mind yet, told listeners that he was inclined to vote against the resolution. Moreover, Lamborn’s office isn’t alone.
Other Congressional offices said that they’ve been bombarded with calls ever since last Saturday, when Obama said that he’d ask Congress to approve a “limited” strike against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack last month. Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD) said in a televised interview on MSNBC, “I can tell you, 99 percent of the calls coming to my office are against it”. US Senator John McCain (R-AZ), who lost the presidency to Obama in 2008, voted to support his old rival during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing this week, but took significant heat about it on Thursday from angry constituents at a town hall meeting in Arizona. One man in the crowd held up a bag of marshmallows, saying, “This is what I think of Congress. They’re a bunch of marshmallows… why aren’t you listening to the people and staying out of Syria? It’s not our fight”.
Some of those calls and comments to Congress appear to be having an effect. After days of discussions with voters, Representative Tom Cole (R-OK) announced late Thursday in a statement on his website that he’d vote against the president’s request, saying that the situation in Syria is a civil war, so, the USA shouldn’t intervene in it. He said, “This isn’t just my opinion. It’s the considered opinion of the people that I represent, expressed not at just one or two town halls, but literally at every public or private meeting and casual encounter that I’ve had since the president decided to put this issue before Congress last Saturday. I’ve heard their opposition loud and clear and I won’t vote in favour of military intervention in Syria”.
Upon hearing word about a chemical attack that killed men, women, and children, Representative Michael Grimm (R-NY) said that his initial reaction, as a USMC combat veteran, “was to stand by the Commander-in-Chief and support immediate targeted strikes”. On Thursday, Grimm announced that he, too, changed his mind. He said in a statement on his website, “I’ve heard from many constituents who strongly oppose unilateral action at a time when we have so many needs here at home. Thus, after much thought, deliberation, and prayer, I’m no longer convinced that an American strike on Syria would yield a benefit to the USA that wouldn’t be greatly outweighed by the extreme cost of the war”.
Representative Matt Salmon (R-AZ), in a statement on his website explaining his opposition to a strike, said that, thus far, the Obama Administration “failed to present a convincing argument that the events in Syria pose a clear threat to America, failed to list a strong coalition of nations willing to support military attacks, and failed to articulate a clear definition of victory”. Salmon told National Review Online that he’s had 500 calls to his office about the crisis in Syria, and only two were in favour of US intervention. He predicted Obama’s efforts in Congress “would fail by 20 votes”.
However, Obama is counting on members of Congress like Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, who’s viewed classified information about the chemical weapons attack and said on Thursday that she supports the strike on Syria, despite the lack of public support. According to the AP, she said, “There’s no question… what’s coming in is overwhelmingly negative, but you see, then, they don’t know what I know. They haven’t heard what I’ve heard”. On Friday, during a press conference in St Petersburg soon after the G20 summit wrapped up, Obama said that he’d address the nation about the crisis on Tuesday, telling reporters that he considers it part of his job to “make the case”. He told reporters, “It’s conceivable that, at the end of the day, I don’t persuade a majority of the American people that it’s the right thing to do”. However, he added that members of Congress would have to decide for themselves if they think a strike is the right thing for national and global security, saying, “Ultimately, you listen to your constituents, but you’ve got to make some decisions about what you believe is right for America”. Obama didn’t say whether he’d still order a strike even without Congressional approval.
6 September 2013
Maria Young
RIA-Novosti
http://en.ria.ru/world/20130907/183229540/US-Congress-Finds-Overwhelming-Public-Opposition-to-Force-in-Syria.html
Editor’s Note:
A Russian correspondent of mine (who lived in the USA for about five years) had an interesting thought:
That’s an interesting thought. However, there’s a lotta light from that there fire. I’d like to believe that my interlocutor’s correct. Yet… I’d need more evidence. Still, I want to see this put to bed with no war… and I’m not alone in wanting that.
BMD