'I lost the argument'
Even world's top diplomat can sometimes feel helpless. In a leaked audio released by the New York Times, Kerry is heard lamenting to a group of Syrian civilians last week in New York that his call for US action against Assad's government fell on deaf ears.
The 40-minute discussion, on the sidelines of last week's UN General Assembly, provides a glimpse of Kerry's frustration with his inability to end the Syrian crisis. He veered between voicing sympathy for the Syrians' frustration with United States policy and trying to justify it.
The conversation took place days after a brief cease-fire he had spearheaded crumbled, and as his Russian counterpart rejected outright his new proposal to stop the bombing of Aleppo.
"I think you're looking at three people, four people in the administration who have all argued for use of force, and I lost the argument," he tells the group. "I've argued for the use of force ... but things evolved into a different process."
State Department spokesman John Kirby did not deny that the recording is authentic.
It has been widely reported that Kerry pushed President Barack Obama to take a more robust path in Syria, to give teeth to international efforts to force Assad aside and end a civil war now heading into its sixth year.
In the meeting, the Syrian rebel delegation pressed Kerry politely but relentlessly on what they saw as contradictions in American policy. Their comments crystallised the widespread sense of betrayal even among the Syrians most attractive to Washington as potential partners, civilians pushing for pluralistic democracy.
One woman, Marcell Shehwaro, demanded “the bottom line,” asking “how many Syrians” had to be killed to prompt serious action.
"Look, I get it," Kerry tells the incredulous Syrians. But he said any further American effort to arm rebels or join the fight could backfire.
“The problem is that, you know, you get, quote, enforcers in there and then everybody ups the ante, right? Russia puts in more, Iran puts in more; Hezbollah is there more and Nusra is more; and Saudi Arabia and Turkey put all their surrogate money in, and you all are destroyed.”
At one point, Kerry astonished the Syrians at the table when he suggested that they should participate in elections that include President Bashar al-Assad, five years after Obama demanded that he step down.
Kerry described the election saying it would be set up by Western and regional powers, and the United Nations, “under the strictest standards.” But the Syrians were distraught with the idea. They again demanded a more direct American role.
“So you think the only solution is for somebody to come in and get rid of Assad?” Kerry asked.
“Yes,” answered back Shehwaro.
“Who's that going to be?” Kerry asked. “Who's going to do that?”
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