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Peter van Buren, State Dept. whistleblower and author of We Meant Well, offers strong, informed commentary on the dissent memo signed by 51 State Dept. employees. The memo is now public, you can read it here. His written commentary is here.
Van Buren points out many of the flaws in the dissent memo, speculates on their motivations, and challenges the notion that US strikes directly on the Assad government would lead to negotiations that could end the bloody war. Noting that Russia is Syria’s strong ally, van Buren also notes that US regime change in Iraq, Yemen, and Libya have made matters worse.
It’s a wide-ranging conversation about the failed US policies in Syria and Iraq, and the incoherent double standards used by Obama to destabilize Syria while offering strong support to the military dictatorship in Egypt.
Near the end, we talk about the “liberation” of Falluja after a scorched-earth approach; we speculate that it will likely amplify the Sunni-Shia struggle for control in Iraq. Van Buren also comments on the Clinton email scandal.