Secretary of State John Kerry will face skeptical senators when he appears before a Republican-led panel just a day after the United States and Russia agreed on a new cease-fire for Syria.
Kerry is scheduled to testify Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee amid nagging questions over enforcement of the truce and how violations of the agreement will be handled. The cease-fire is to go into effect Saturday.
Congressional mistrust of Russia runs high on Capitol Hill and is sure to color the hearing. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the committee’s chairman, said he has no confidence Russia would abide by the cease-fire agreement. “I have a series of questions about our relationship with Russia and what we really expect them to honor and do,” Corker said.
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said he is very doubtful about anything that Russia agrees to in Syria. “The Russians continue to say that they’ll still go after terrorists, but that’s a very elastic term,” he said. “They’re going after anybody they want. I don’t trust them.”
The timeline for the truce comes after the United States and Russia, backing opposing sides in the conflict, agreed on terms for the “cessation of hostilities” between Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government and armed opposition groups. Five years of violence in Syria has killed more than 250,000 people and displaced 11 million more from their homes.
The truce will not cover the Islamic State extremist group, the al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front and any other militias designated as terrorist organizations by the U.N. Security Council. Both the U.S. and Russia are still targeting those groups with airstrikes.
Even if the cease-fire is implemented, the fighting and violence in Syria won’t stop.
Despite the agreement, Russia is almost certain to continue an air campaign that it insists is targeting terrorists. But the U.S. and its partners said Russia is mainly hitting moderate opposition groups and killing civilians.
While IS tries to expand its self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria and neighboring Iraq, al-Nusra is unlikely to end its effort to overthrow Assad. The Kurds have been fighting IS, even as they face attacks from America’s NATO ally Turkey. And Assad has his own history of broken promises when it comes to military action.
In congressional testimony two weeks ago, Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper said Russia’s campaign in Syria “has eclipsed its aggression in the Crimea and Ukraine as the most serious flashpoint in U.S.-Russian relations.”
“Unlike Russia’s obscured hand in Ukraine, its actions in Syria are being played out in daily headlines that report on Russia’s indiscriminate bombing and its support of the Syrian regime in areas where moderate forces are aiming to get out from under the rule of the Assad regime,” Clapper said.
As objectionable as Russia’s involvement in Syria is, the only prospect for peace is through a negotiated cease-fire, humanitarian relief and a serious attempt at a negotiating a political resolution, said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del. That approach is “far preferable to our deploying tens of thousands of American troops in an attempt to move the balance of the battlefield back against Assad,” he said.
Kerry’s appearance before the committee was scheduled before the Syrian cease-fire was reached. He will also discuss the State Department’s fiscal year 2017 budget request, a $50.1 billion package that includes programs to counter IS and other such groups, address climate change and respond to humanitarian emergencies and peacekeeping missions.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
One thing you can count on the Russians to accomplish is having just about every muzlim group or fighter constantly looking over their shoulders to see if a rocket is heading their way – sort of non-discriminatory killing of muzlims, just because they are.
Oboso will not like that his chosen people will be harmed by the Russians !
CAN THE IDIOT CIC EVER GET TO DO ANYTHING RIGHT??? HIs and HIs Two IDIOTS SEC of State are UNBELIVABLY STUPID…
yes they are, thank you.
Like two peas in a pod.
How many ceasefire did we have in Vietnam? Just to let the enemy regroup and resupply. Cease fires do not work. The only thing that works is to destroy their will to fight. There should be only a ceasefire after they have signed a peace agreement and handed over all weapons.
I agree with you John.
The only thing that makes sense here is that this US 44th president who is responsible for giving ISIS it’s leader, Abu Bakr al Bagdhadi from GITMO, and for supplying them and aiding them all along since it’s onset on HIS “WATCH” – is that this president wants to do everything in his power to help ISIS aka ISIL aka DAESH to get it’s CALIPHATE and destroy as much population and areas as it can. We have a TRAITOR in our midst!
Ceasefire will be broke before the ink is dried!
From all that I have read and heard, the problem with cease fires, peace treaties, deals with Iran, and the failure of these “Deals”, lies squarely on the shoulders of the IDIOT in the White House! GET HIM OUT NOW, and most problems of this nature will dissolve!
WHY A CEASE FIRE, WHAT IN TARNATIONS IS GOING ON WITH OBAMA. I DO NOT TRUST OBAMA ON THIS DECISION. ALL THE MONEY INTO THIS WAR IS BEING WASTED. I ASSUME OBAMA DOES NOT WANT ISIS KILLED. GOD FORBID IF SOMETHING BAD IS PLANNED FOR AMERICA AND WE THE PEOPLE. WE NEED CONGRESS TO STOP THIS MESS CAUSE AMERICANS ARE STRESSED OUT TO THE POINT OF BREAKING AND WE NEED CONGRESS’S HELP ON THIS AND MANY OTHER THINGS. LIKE PROTECT THE POST THAT JUSTICE SCALIA LEFT VACANT. DO NOT ALLOW OBAMA TO APPOINT ONE OF HIS CHOICE, WE MUST PROTECT THE 2ND CONSTITUTION AMMENDMENT. STOP OBAMA MCCONNELL DO YOUR JOB PROTECT AMERICA AND WE THE PEOPLE.
Severa!? Where have you been?! Living under a rock!? You do not trust Obama on THIS decision? God forbid if something bad is PLANNED for America?! You ASSUME Obama does not want Isis killed?! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN THE LAST 7 YEARS???!!!
What they need is an investigation into A S being murdered ! The ranch belonged to a friend and supporter of Obozo. Sever pictures have surfaced . with Ricketts (Ranch owner) and Obozo . Ricketts donated 3 mill. $ to the group that is against Trump. A S was pronounced dead via a judge appointed by a Dem congress. No autopsy on the deceased. Family is silent. Trump state that “Ricketts better be careful as they (Ricketts family) have a lot to hide. Did Obozo order a hit and threatened the family???
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+24&version=NASB
A MUSLIM NEVER SPEAKS BAD OF ANOTHER, OUR POTUS IS A MUSLIM. HE WILL NOT CALL MUSLIMS TERRORISTS, HE WILL TRY TO BLAME THERE FAULTS ON OTHERS. THE MAD MUSLIM MAJOR THAT KILLED ALL THOSE PEOPLE. THATS JUST WORKPLACE VIOLENCE! IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME. IT WOULDNT SUPRIZE ME IF HE PARDONS THE BOSTON BOMBER, AN BERGDAHL, AN HILLARY! LOOK WHAT AMERICA HAS BECOME. A NATION OF WEAK SPINED PROGRESSIVE NOBODYS.
He knows congress want Impeach him because look who would replace him just dum ass trader like he is but even worser than he is I’d trust President Putin before I would trust these two trader’s because when President Putin tell you something he will do it.he’s not like obama look you face and lie to you and then when trun back stab you in it kerry and obama and hilary all three need to be tryed for murder and treson
I’m of the idea that , if Obama was taken out of office now, Mr Biden would refuse on grounds of personal family grief. I believe an opening would be created and Mr. (traitor to the Republican party himself) Paul Ryan would step up. How much worse could we be, with him as President, even if he would not get re-elected. God help us all. (I am a Republican as of right now.
Oboma said that he was grateful that Senator Mc/Cain did not attack (my) nuslim faith and it was shown online after that race for the presidential race. So he does what he does and doesn’t do what he doesn’t do because he is a muslim I saw the video on line and saw him say this, so when he has to choose between saving American lives or getting a pat on the back from the muslims, he will choose the pat on the back from the muslims every time, hence the closing of Gitmo and the end of waterboarding and the stand down order for Bengasi /