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Last September the United States was prepared to institute military action in Syria against the regime of Bashar al-Assad use of chemical weapons against its own people.  Crisis was averted when Russia intervened and Syria agreed to hand over all of its chemical weapons.

Since then the situation in Syria has barely made the national news, but where are we in regard to the situation in Syria?

There is a bit of confusion, in a closed door meeting with an American Congressional Delegation attending the Munich Security Conference a few weeks ago, Secretary of State John Kerry commented that our Syria’s policy is failing.

This is where it becomes dubious on who said what.  Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham claimed he did but a State Department spokesman who was there for the meeting denied it ever took place.

The real question is where are we currently at in U.S. policy toward Syria?

During a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing last month, National Intelligence Director James Clapper stated, “Somewhere in the neighborhood of between 20,000 and maybe up to a top range of 26,000 we regard as extremists,” he said. “And they are disproportionately influential because they are among the most effective fighters on the battlefield.”

With other US intelligence officials, clapper mentioned that Syria is turning into safe haven for terror groups, linking it to the situation of Pakistan’s federally-administered tribal areas (FATA).  The border region in Pakistan had become safe haven for Al-Qaida leaders before the US invaded Afghanistan in 2001, and continues to be a refuge for the Taliban leadership.

“What’s going on there may be in some respects a new FATA force … and the attraction of these foreign fighters is very, very worrisome,” Clapper said, adding that more than 7,000 militants fighting in Syria now come from around 50 different countries.

In the same testimony he stated the war in Syria had created “apocalyptic disaster,” and atrocities committed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government in documents released by media affiliates are accurate.

“They’re terrible. And when you consider the humanitarian disaster in addition to the 2.5 million refugees, the 6.5 million or 7 million that are internally displaced, the 134,000 plus people that have been killed, it is an apocalyptic disaster,” he said.

This week White House Press Secretary Jay Carney states, “We support a humanitarian resolution in principle, as do other U.N. Security Council member states.  The Security Council must actively support the principle that all barriers preventing humanitarian access to all parts of the country and all civilians be removed immediately.  The United States has worked with our partners on the U.N. Security Council to develop a draft resolution that we feel includes provisions that go beyond the October 2nd Security Council presidential statement to address the need for greater humanitarian access.  So we’re continuing to work with Security Council member states on this issue.”

A recent United Nations conference in Geneva bringing the warring sides together, Secretary of State Kerry had the difficult time just getting all sides to participate.  He problem is that Russia has repeatedly vetoed any Security Council which punishes Syria.

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) released a statement on Syria, “The purpose of the Geneva conference has been steadily defined downward from a conflict-ending political settlement to simple humanitarian relief, and the talks have failed to achieve even this more limited goal. Instead, while the negotiators ‘negotiated,’ almost 2,000 more people were killed, and the first round of talks ended with no meaningful progress.”

The key aspect of the administration’s Syria policy, in which Russia agreed to get Assad to remove his chemical weapons, is virtually collapsing.  The Obama administration has been reporting that Syria has only removed just 4 percent of the most lethal chemical weapons; this was supposed to be completed by Dec 31st.

The Syrian government repeatedly cites “security concerns” needing more equipment and armored vehicles which also can be turned around and used to fight the insurgency.

US ambassador to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague, says: “These demands are without merit, and display a ‘bargaining mentality’.”

Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Gennady Gatilov defended the Syrian government citing security concerns and transportation problems, but Syria is Russia’s biggest ally in the region and it continues to send weapons to Assad. 

Last month’s State of the Union Address President Obama stated, “American diplomacy, backed by the threat of force, is why Syria’s chemical weapons are being eliminated.  And we will continue to work with the international community to usher in the future the Syrian people deserve — a future free of dictatorship, terror and fear.”

The unfortunate aspect of this the agreement he speaks of was perpetuated by the president willingness to use force, now the president withdrew the threat, and the Syrian government has time on its hands.

At a press conference with French President Francois Hollande, President Obama stated, “The first Geneva process committed to a transition process that would preserve and protect the state of Syria that would accommodate the various sectarian interests inside Syria … and would allow us to return to some semblance of normalcy…. We are far from achieving that yet,”

Senator McCain, in a statement, “The time has passed for the Administration to realize that President Bashar al-Assad is not committed to negotiating a political settlement. His regime has no intention of ending its murderous assault on the Syrian people. Given, as multiple high-level U.S. officials have confirmed, Assad has strengthened his position since the deadly chemical weapon attack in August, Assad has little incentive to negotiate his own departure from power.”

The question that needs to be asked what strategy does the administration have with regard to the current humanitarian disaster now being perpetuated in Syria?  Hundreds of thousands of refugees are spilling over into countries that border Syria; such as Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Turkey.  Jordan and Lebanon are facing a crisis of their own and this added dimension can destabilize the region.

Finally what strategy does the administration peruse if Syria continues to delay and find excuses for not removing its chemical weapons?

No one is advocating military action, but hope is not a strategy!

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