For the last couple weeks a scene from the West Wing has been etched into my head. The scene is in the first season and comes after the Bartlet administration has been struggling to pass any legislation. After a conversation in the Oval Office, President Bartlet and his chief of staff Leo McGarry decide to “let Bartlet be Bartlet.” Leo goes to his office and tells the high level staff, “We’re gonna put the ball in the air. If we’re gonna walk into walls, I want us running into ’em full speed.” For the last couple weeks, it appears President Barack Obama, with Secretary of State John Kerry on his side, has been running at full speed.
About two weeks ago, President Obama called on Congress to support strikes of limited scope and duration in response to President Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons against his own people. In the speech he said he wanted Congress to authorize the use of force, although he made clear that he believed he had the power to order the strikes himself. I found this quite puzzling. If the president believed he had the power to attack Syria, why send Congress such an important vote when Congress, more likely than not, would reject the use of force? The president could lose big on this vote. There is no doubt this was a bold move.
When Secretary of State Kerry let the world know at a news conference in London that Syria could avoid strikes should they turn their chemical weapons over to international inspectors, it seemed a little too convenient. Both Russia and Syria jumped on the proposal. Even more, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem, stated that in addition to turning over the weapons, Syria would also be willing to sign onto the Chemical Weapons Convention, which outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons.
President Obama has gone from a precarious situation, in which he faced an uphill battle with Congress to a potentially better situation that would require no violence, a win-win. The Obama administration has had a reputation for being cautious, but on Syria they have clearly not used plays from the same book. This new playbook appears to have pushed Russia and Syria into cooperating with the west.
Now this is not to say the deal outline will work. As Senator John McCain remarked we must be ‘very skeptical.’ The world should let the Russians bring their proposal to the table; however, the world should not allow Syria or Russia to stall a potential attack and ensure the agreement contains ample opportunities to verify that Syria is complying with what al-Moualem has promised to do. Additionally, a multitude of logistics will need to be worked out.
In addition to the Russian plan, a group of influential senators led by democrats Chuck Schumer and Bob Casey and republicans John McCain and Lindsey Graham is working toward another potential solution, which would ultimately take Syria’s chemical weapons away from them. Should an agreement emerge, which ensures Syrian compliance and works logistically so that the chemical weapons can be disposed of safely, it would be a great victory for the world.
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