I’m traveling today, so posting will be light.
In the meanwhile, here’s an amazing photo from the weekend — US president Barack Obama and his national security team discussing the response to the Syrian chemical attack, including US attorney general Eric Holder, US vice president Joe Biden, US secretary of state John Kerry, national security adviser Susan Rice and US defense secretary Chuck Hagel (rocking a great tan jacket and fuchsia shirt combo).
You can also read all of Suffragio‘s coverage so far of the US response to the Syria conflict that you may have missed, including:
- the relatively muted Iranian response (and why the United States and Iran have a common interest in responding to the Syrian chemical attack);
- a look at why Obama is seeking congressional approval for Syria today, but not for Libya two years ago;
- an examination of what last week’s vote in the House of Commons against UK prime minister David Cameron’s push for military intervention means for the UK-US relationship and British politics;
- how the Obama administration’s initial response marked a failure of US foreign policy in four key ways;
- more on the ongoing question of whether Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was actually responsible for launching the chemical attack, despite the insistence of Kerry and other US officials; and
- how the Obama administration’s earlier support of pro-Assad Sunni rebels is emboldening the pro-Assad Shiite group Hezbollah and other actors in the fragile, neighboring state of Lebanon.
Photo credit to Pete Souza / White House.