Secretary of State Rex Tillerson: 'There's been no change' in US policy towards Assad

[DonViejo]

Source: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE




07 APR 2017 AT 15:35 ET

Donald Trump’s cruise missile strike on a Syrian air base drags Washington deeper into the country’s tragedy but does not yet represent a new strategy to oust Bashar al-Assad.

The new US president has been an outspoken opponent of US military intervention in Middle East conflicts and until this week, his administration had insisted that removing the Syrian strongman was not a priority. But Assad’s alleged use of a banned nerve agent to massacre scores of civilians moved Trump to act, which in turn gave hope to those who have long hoped that the United States would help depose him.

They may well be disappointed. Trump’s cautious chief diplomat, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, was quick to pour cold water on the idea that the cruise missile salvo heralded a change in strategy.

“I would not in any way attempt to extrapolate that to a change in our policy or our posture relative to our military activities in Syria today. There’s been no change in that status,” Tillerson said.

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2017/04/secretary-of-state-rex-tillerson-theres-been-no-change-in-us-policy-towards-assad/

[chelsea0011]

1. You are a lying SOS

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. Which policy?

It changes so often.

[WoonTars]

5. Right? The new one that says no regime change, or the 'new' new one

...that says 'we'll bomb you anytime Dump needs to look "Presidential"..?

[angstlessk]

3. Do these people have necks equal to owls?

That can spin 360 degrees?

[vlyons]

4. Translation

Don't disrupt our oil drilling and money laundering deals with the Russians.

[harun]

10. +1

[yallerdawg]

6. Impulse bombing. "Did you see the pictures of little babies?"

God - we are in trouble.

[paleotn]

18. Ha! Impulse bombing

..perversely funny, but funny nonetheless.

[deminks]

7. That implies you had a policy to change or not change.

And that would be wrong.

[Thomas Hurt]

8. so the Trump admin is still working on the Obama Syria Policy?

[janterry]

9. This is truth

Trump and Tillerson have no policy.

The US just sort of goes along - reacting to whatever they see in front of them.

There is no consistent policy.

[harun]

11. They have a policy to make $$$, rest is just a means to that end.

[Solly Mack]

12. Policy?

They strike me as a willy-nilly bunch of clueless fucks with a pension for cruelty. Is that a policy?

[George II]

13. Your headline sentence should have a " , " followed by "in the last hour".

[Docreed2003]

14. Proving that....

Either

A). The whole "strike" was a wag the dog, look over there distraction from Russiagate

And/or

B). This administration has zero fucking clue what they are doing regarding foreign policy.

[bronxiteforever]

15. I could see why this guy was an oil company CEO.

He has all the truthfulness of Madison Avenue in the 1960s.

[lark]

16. Translation - Pootie and drumpf are still BFF's of convenience.

Drumpf won't take out Assad, although he may bomb more empty fields if his popularity continues to plummet. He'll be sure to give plenty of notice, just like he did this time, so Syria doesn't actually lose any ability to make war on it's own people.

[NastyRiffraff]

17. That asshole Tillerson has NO RIGHT to say anything about Syria

After he said just last week that what happened to Assad was up to the "Syrian people," he has zero credibility.

[paleotn]

19. I bet our allies just love these guys...

apparently our policy is we have no policy.