John Kerry Criticizes Lack of Military Threat to Stop War in Syria

On Friday, the American newspaper The New York Times released an audio file of statements made by John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, during a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. In the recording, Kerry criticized the failure to use military threats to stop the war in Syria. According to Reuters, Kerry, speaking to a group of Syrian citizens in New York last week, told them: 'I think you are looking at the statements of three or four people in the U.S. government who all argued that military options should be used; I could not make my argument stick.' The U.S. Secretary of State added in the audio file: 'I argued that force should be used. I am the one who stood up and said we would attack (Bashar) Assad due to his weapons, but as you know, everything shifted to a different process.' Kerry emphasized that even Congress refrained from voting on such a plan. The New York Times noted that the Secretary of State criticized multiple times in the audio file that his diplomatic efforts were not supported by threats of military action in Syria. The recent ceasefire violations and the intensification of Russian and Syrian government attacks on Aleppo have darkened the prospects for ending the Syrian civil war through diplomatic means. In this context, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department also stated that given what is happening in Aleppo, it is difficult to imagine that the five-and-a-half-year Syrian war could be resolved through diplomatic processes. Mark Toner, the State Department spokesperson, stated on Friday in an interview with CNN: 'Given what is currently happening on the ground, it is difficult to maintain faith in a diplomatic solution.' Following the violation of the ceasefire agreed upon by the U.S. and Russia last week, Syrian government forces and their allies, with the air support of Russian fighter jets, have launched a new operation against opposition positions in Aleppo. Syrian and Russian fighter jets have heavily bombed rebel-controlled areas in Aleppo, and residents of these areas have reported that these attacks are the most intense bombings in the five-and-a-half-year civil war in Syria. Reports indicate that John Kerry spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov for the third consecutive day on Friday regarding the situation in Syria and the attacks on Aleppo. Kerry warned Russia on Wednesday that if the attacks on Aleppo do not stop immediately, Washington will suspend its negotiations with Moscow regarding Syria. Meanwhile, Mark Toner stated on Friday that Washington has not yet reached the final stage of suspending negotiations. In this context, NBC News reported that at least 20 American personnel sent to establish a joint center with Russia in Geneva are returning to the U.S. 'Deployment of thousands' of troops around Aleppo On the other hand, two American officials told NBC News that thousands of ground troops have been deployed around Aleppo and are likely waiting for the start of ground operations in the city. These officials stated that given that various forces, including the Syrian army, the Quds Force of the IRGC, Hezbollah, and Iraqi and Afghan militias, are stationed in the area, they are likely waiting for a final ground assault on eastern Aleppo. In this context, Mark Toner stated on Friday at the U.S. State Department conference that it is difficult to predict when a city or its population center will fall. However, given the escalation of conflicts, this could happen in the near future. Friday, September 30, marked the anniversary of the start of Russian airstrikes in Syria. According to AFP, since Russia began its airstrikes in Syria last year, at least 3,800 civilians have been killed in these bombings. In this context, 'Russia is sending more fighter jets' to Syria, and the airstrikes have left 'over 9,000 dead' in Syria. Russia stated that a one-week ceasefire in Syria is too long and agrees to 48 hours.