There has been some movement among the outside powers to the Syrian civil war. The Syrian opposition has met with both Russia and Iran, and US Vice President Biden also met with the opposition. There are few tangible signs of change, but the simple fact that negotiations are taking place is an important step. Generally speaking, supporters of the “losing” side rarely open negotiations (and virtually everyone believes that President Assad is, in fact, losing) except to try to find some face-saving exit routes. We’ll keep an eye on developments. On another front, Turkey made a somewhat bizarre statement excoriating President Assad for not responding to the Israeli attack on Syrian soil. What makes the statement so strange is that Turkey has been in the forefront of opposition to Assad–why exhort an enemy to attack another enemy?
PBS has made a video on one of the newest developments in drone technology–the ability to process videos so precise that you can see people waving their arms and walking around from a camera three miles in the air. The technology is truly breathtaking and frightening: the oversight capability would probably amaze Big Brother (and it clearly signals the end of skinny-dipping).
For an insight into how a contemporary realist thinks about foreign policy, one could hardly do better than to read Stephen Walt. One of his blogs is particularly revealing and delightful.
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