Kerry: Assad Stays

“The United States and our partners are not seeking regime change in Syria,” John Kerry said in Moscow this week. The announcement that the White House is fully in line with the position of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s Russian and Iranian sponsors caught some by surprise. Others argue that it’s the second time the White House has failed to enforce a red line regarding Syria. Just like the president said it would change his calculus if Assad used chemical weapons, Obama said in August 2011 that Assad should step aside. However, when Obama didn’t blink after Assad had slaughtered his first 100,000, White House policy was pretty clear.