John Kerry

Part of what is happening is that predictably, neo con leaning mainstream media - including WP, NYT and CNN - were never happy that Obama did not opt to use the CW to go in and so destroy Assad that he would be driven out of power. They are positive about Trump's attack -- and have tried to negate the value of the removal of 1300 tons of chemical weapons. I don't get why no one stands up and questions how much more damage those tons of chemical weapons - in Assad's, ISIS's or Al Nusra's hands would have done. This seems pretty big versus an attack that may have destroyed some planes.

I did find one thing that might give you hope that the serious left understands both Kerry and Obama. This is one of the best articles I have read comparing Trump's actions that do not seem connected to any serious diplomacy and what the Obama administration did. Given that Syria is the most controversial issue of Obama's Presidency, especially for the anti war left. Obama and Kerry readily admit that they did not suceed in finding the diplomatic solution, but this article from Common Dreams - a site that has always been ready to fault anyone - Democratic or Republican.

Here is the end of the article where he speaks of Obama and Kerry:


Helping ensure that children and civilians aren’t trapped in Syria should be the first and most obvious thing the U.S. can do to help. Second, a far more robust dedication toward finding a diplomatic solution is needed, although such a solution is now more difficult to achieve. Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry should be commended for his efforts to broker a Syrian deal. I describe in my forthcoming book on the Iran deal negotiations that Kerry, together with former President Barack Obama, provided a key ingredient for the success of those talks: a near unprecedented degree of political will and commitment toward making the negotiations succeed.

Diplomacy over Iran’s nuclear program had been taking place on and off for more than a decade. But those negotiations were profoundly flawed. And even when they became more appropriately structured and realistic, they often faltered due to insufficient political will from one or both sides. The readiness to expend the necessary political capital and pay the domestic political price to achieve a deal was simply missing. Diplomacy had to succeed on the cheap.

But complex international disputes such as the stand-off over the Iranian nuclear program or the Syrian civil war cannot be resolved on the cheap. Trump launching strikes before trying diplomacy gives little hope that he has the political will to truly resolve the conflict.
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/04/09/why-trumps-syria-strike-will-not-end-well