Intervention in Syria may be necessary
By Ryan Vaswani | Oct. 24, 2013To the eyes of the international community, it was nothing less than a Russian diplomatic coup. I am talking, of course, about negotiations between the United States and Russia over the fate of Syrian chemical weapons that took place last month in Geneva. In a situation that appeared to be inevitably spiraling towards United States’ intervention, the efforts of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his long trusted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have quietly stunned U.S. diplomats in their pragmatism and tact. The deal, which would allow United Nations weapons inspectors into Syria and create a realistic timeline to destroy all chemical weapons stockpiles, was welcomed by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry remained skeptical about Syrian compliance, and warned that any faltering in the agreement on the side of Syria could result in U.S. military action.