US Diplomats Rip Obama's Syria Policy, Call
for Direct Action



FILE - Robert Ford, U.S. ambassador to Syria, arrives to testify to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the
conflict in Syria, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Pamela Dockins, Joshua Fatzick

Last updated on: June 17, 2016 11:35 AM

The former U.S. ambassador to Syria says it is highly unusual, if not unprecedented, for more than 50 State Department diplomats to sign an internal diplomatic cable criticizing the Obama administration’s handling of Syria’s civil war.

Robert Ford, who served as ambassador until 2014, commented to VOA on Friday, after a document emerged from the department’s internal “Dissent Channel” in which 51 State Department officials call for the use of targeted airstrikes against the Syrian government.

The call for the stepped up U.S. military engagement against the Syrian regime is in stark contrast to the administration’s current policy, which has focused largely on aiding rebels in a bid to oust Islamic State and supporting diplomatic efforts for a political transition in the country.

“In my experience dating back to 1985 in the Department of State,” said Ford, “I have never heard of a dissent channel messages that had 10 signatures – much less one that had 50.”

High number

Ford said the high number of signatures is an indication that the officials responsible for implementing policy measures on the ground in Syria, pushing for a negotiated political solution and dealing with the refugee crisis do not believe they can meet objectives under the current policy.

“They are warning that the way that it is going now, it is never going to succeed and there needs to be, therefore, a change. There needs to be a new approach,” said Ford, who is now an analyst at the Middle East Institute.

However, he added that President Barack Obama is unlikely to make dramatic changes to his Syria policy so late in his administration.

The State Department has verified the authenticity of an internal cable.

Spokesman John Kirby confirmed its legitimacy but would not speak about its contents.

"We are reviewing the cable now, which came up very recently," he added.



Dissent channel

The Dissent Channel was created to give State Department employees a place to raise their concerns and offer dissenting or alternative views about “substantive issues” of foreign policy. Users of the Dissent Channel are legally protected from retaliation or punishment for raising their views. The Secretary of State and other high-ranking see the messages from the Dissent Channel and a “substantive reply” is required within 60 days.

The Syria memo, which was obtained by The New York Times asks the Obama administration to employ a "judicious use of stand-off and air weapons" to directly engage the Syrian army and hasten an end to the civil war that has already taken the lives of nearly 500,000 people.

"The moral rationale for taking steps to end the deaths and suffering in Syria, after five years of brutal war, is evident and unquestionable,'' it reads. "The status quo in Syria will continue to present increasingly dire, if not disastrous, humanitarian, diplomatic and terrorism-related challenges.''

While speaking with reporters in Copenhagen, on Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry said he would discuss the memo when he returned to Washington.

"I haven't had a chance to see it yet, but I agree with the process. But it's a great process,” he said.

http://www.voanews.com/content/us-di...n/3380369.html


“It gives people a chance to express their views. I think it's an important statement," he said, "and I respect the process very, very much."