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For the Record, Obama Has Done Pretty Well on Syria

But you wouldn't know that from all his critics: David Ignatius

(Newser) - The many, many critics of President Obama's Syria strategy say it has amounted to nothing short of a national embarrassment. Which David Ignatius of the Washington Post find a little "puzzling" given how things have worked out. The threat of force got Russia invested in a resolution, got...

Putin: Sure, I Might Seek a 4th Term

Would make him second only to Stalin, AP notes

(Newser) - Eleven more years of drunken arm wrestling , whale shooting , and crazy fish stories ? Maybe. Vladimir Putin says he just might run for president of Russia again when this, his third term, is up in 2018. Putin made the comment during what RIA Novosti calls a "playful exchange" with...

McCain Rebuts Putin, Just Not Where He Had Hoped

Publishes open letter to Russians on website

(Newser) - As promised , John McCain responded to Vladimir Putin's New York Times op-ed with a piece in the Russian press today. But— as was pointed out before McCain's piece even appeared—the website McCain wrote for isn't exactly the Russian equivalent of the NYT. McCain originally said...

Looks Like Syria Will Miss First Arms-Deal Deadline

Plus: Pentagon says US could train some rebels

(Newser) - Syria probably won't get a full inventory of its chemical weapons to international authorities by Saturday, as proposed—but the US, it seems, isn't panicking. "Our goal is to see forward momentum," rather than the whole inventory, by Saturday, says a State Department rep. "We'...

Russia Rips UN's Syria Report: 'Biased,' 'One-Sided'

Says it has evidence rebels used chemical weapons—courtesy of Assad

(Newser) - Just when it seemed like the US and Russia were suspiciously close to seeing eye-to-eye on Syria, things move back to more familiar territory. A Russian government minister has slammed the UN report findings that chemical weapons were used in Syria as "biased and one-sided," while claiming it...

Man Shot in Fight About 18th-Century Philosopher

Plus: more weird Russian attacks

(Newser) - A spate of odd news today concerning attacks in Russia: one on a dance floor, three in a cemetery, and another over a philosopher.
  • Two 20-something men in line for beers at a festival in southern Russia, got in a heated dispute about 18th-century philosopher Immanuel Kant. The feud "
...

Assad Comes Out on Top in Syria Deal
 Assad Comes 
 Out on Top in 
 Syria Deal 
OPINION
Sep 16, 2013 11:47 AM CDT

Assad Comes Out on Top in Syria Deal

Putin now 'US ambassador to Syria': GOP senator

(Newser) - Following the US-Russia agreement on Syrian chemical disarmament, plenty of political insiders are furious with the Obama administration—but the White House has its defenders. What the media is saying:
  • At Bloomberg , Jeffrey Goldberg sees a major victory for Bashar al-Assad: "The US has in a perverse way made
...

McCain: I'll Answer Putin's Op-Ed With Column in Russian Press

Pravda.ru says he 'is welcome' to publish his own opinion piece on its site

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin got to sound off against the US in a New York Times op-ep this week, so now a Russian news site is offering the same opportunity to John McCain. Joking about Putin's op-ed on CNN last week, McCain said, "I would love to have a commentary...

US, Russia Strike Deal on Syria
 US, Russia Strike Deal on Syria 
Sep 14, 2013 6:07 AM CDT

US, Russia Strike Deal on Syria

Inspectors will see chemical stockpiles by November

(Newser) - They've got a deal on Syria: John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have agreed on the broad strokes of a plan designed to culminate in the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons, reports Reuters . Under the deal, Bashar al-Assad will turn over a list of his chemical...

Fire Guts Psych Hospital in Russia, Killing 37

Authorities had warned about dangerous building

(Newser) - A fire at a psychiatric hospital in central Russia has killed 37 people, according to the country's top investigators. Though 60 were inside the now-decimated facility when the blaze began, 23 were evacuated, officials say. Among the dead was a nurse trying to rescue patients, the New York Times...

Putin&#39;s Op-Ed: Joke or Masterstroke?
Putin's Op-Ed: Joke or Masterstroke?
OPINION
Sep 12, 2013 1:57 PM CDT

Putin's Op-Ed: Joke or Masterstroke?

Russian president's Syria piece riles up Human Rights Watch, others

(Newser) - If nothing else, Vladimir Putin's New York Times op-ed certainly got people talking. Here's what they're saying about it:
  • Human Rights Watch Associate Director Anna Neistat calls the piece "worrisome," mostly because of what Putin didn't say. He neglected to mention, for example, "
...

Assad: It Was Russia, Not US, That Convinced Us

He agrees to sign chemical weapons pact as Kerry, Lavrov meet

(Newser) - John Kerry and Russia's foreign minister began wrangling over the details of Moscow's plan to defuse the Syria crisis today, as Bashar al-Assad publicly embraced the idea and simultaneously zinged the US: "Syria is placing its chemical weapons under international control because of Russia," he said...

Kerry Looking to Nail Down Syria as Russia Talks Begin

Rebels, meanwhile, despair over lack of strike

(Newser) - John Kerry arrived in Geneva today for two days of talks with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov over the Syrian disarmament plan they sort of created together. Kerry's top goal, one official tells Reuters , "is to see if there's reality here or not." To do that he'...

'Forest Boy' Found After 16 Years in Siberia Wilderness

Parents raised him there from age of 4

(Newser) - A 20-year-old Russian man has emerged from a Siberian forest after spending 16 years living there. The man says he and his hermit parents moved there when he was 4. His folks finally left in May, and locals say they then decided to head to an island off Russia's...

For First Time, Syria Admits It Has Chemical Arsenal

Will sign arms pact; also, Putin says US must renounce threat of force

(Newser) - President Obama's speech-writers are probably a stressed-out bunch right about now because Syria developments are coming quickly ahead of Obama's prime-time address:
  • Disclosing sites: Syria is ready to disclose the locations of its chemical stockpiles to the UN, Russia, and other unspecified nations, says Foreign Minister Walid Moallem,
...

Syria Plan: 'Sham' or Legit Path to Peace?

Pundits make their case

(Newser) - Might John Kerry's offhand comment lead to a genuine resolution of the Syrian mess? Some of the opinions:
  • It's a 'sham': That's the view of Michael Doran of the Brookings Institution as quoted in the Washington Post . "This is a dishonest ploy by Russia and
...

Obama: Syria Chemical Weapon Surrender Could Be 'Breakthrough'

Would 'absolutely' pause military strike if it works

(Newser) - Obama has weighed in on the Russian proposal to get Syria to surrender its stockpile of chemical weapons, calling it both a "potentially positive development" and a possible "breakthrough"—but only if it's a genuine offer. The move comes after Hillary Clinton also made cautiously positive...

Syria: Sure, We'll Turn Over Our Chemical Weapons

State department backtracks on Kerry statement, says it was rhetorical

(Newser) - Syria is on board with Russia's proposal to put its chemical weapons under international control, Foreign Minister Walid Moallem told reporters in Moscow today. Moallem earlier met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov today, and says he "welcomes" Lavrov's suggestion, CNN reports. John Kerry appeared to suggest...

Putin, Obama Meet, Agree to Disagree

Meanwhile, US orders embassy personnel out of Lebanon

(Newser) - Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin had a surprise one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit today, hashing out their disagreements on Syria without coming to any real conclusion. Obama described it as a "candid and constructive conversation" and Putin called it "substantial and constructive," according...

Inside a Man's Wire-Inspired Run for Mayor of Moscow

Alexei Navalny is getting to run a kinda sorta almost free campaign

(Newser) - This Sunday, Moscow will hold something almost unheard of in the Vladimir Putin era: an actual election. The Kremlin is for once allowing an avowed foe—anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny —to run, although the playing field is hardly even. Navalny is banned from running TV ads, while Kremlin-backed incumbent...

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