PRESS RELEASE

---

‘Don’t Intervene in Syria,’ Former NSC Specialists Urge Obama

Oct. 7, 2016 (EIRNS)—In an op-ed published in yesterday’s New York Times, two former (2011-2013) National Security Council top specialists in Middle East affairs, Steven Simon and Jonathan Stevenson, wrote that those proposing more aggressive American action in Syria—such as the Vice-Presidential candidates of both parties, Tim Kaine and Mike Pence, in their recent televised debate—are making a grave mistake. "The truth is that it is too late for the US to wade deeper into the Syrian conflict without risking major war," Simon and Stevenson write. They specifically point out that a no-fly zone in Syria could lead to a military confrontation with Russia, and argue that cease-fire talks are not a great option, but they remain the best choice.

"There are probably limits to Moscow’s deference to Mr. Assad’s blood lust, but it is unclear what they are... It is wiser to test unknown political limits [of Russia] than unknown military ones."

Although a useful call for sanity to prevail in Washington, the op-ed fails to mention the elephant in the room: that the Obama administration is in bed with terrorists in Syria, including al-Nusra, for the purpose of overthrowing the Assad government in that country, and that has been the sticking point with Russia.

Another warning that the Obama administration is on the verge of provoking a war with Russia, came from Pat Buchanan, who wrote: "We cannot defeat the Assad coalition—not without risking a world war." Therefore, it is "time to stop the killing, stop the carnage, stop the war and get the best terms for peace we can get."