World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

The White House has released a brief on the evidence it believes confirms that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against civilians.  It does not supply any information that was not readily available in the media: specifically, it does not supply any information about press reports that the US government had intercepted a telephone call from the Syrian military ordering the use of chemical weapons.  Presumably that information is being made available to others.  President Obama made a statement that the US was only considering “limited, narrow options” in dealing with the Syrian atrocity.   Secretary of State Kerry said that the US would not wait for the UN Inspectors report before making its own decision.

There are a number of perplexing issues in the flow of information today.  First, in the brief highlighted above, we learn that US intelligence was aware of the preparation for the chemical attack three days prior to the attack.  Did the US warn the rebel forces?  Was there anything the US could have done to avoid the attack?  Did it try to deter the attack in any way?  Second, Secretary Kerry’s briefing was, in effect, a declaration of war.  There is no way that one could interpret his statement as indicating anything other than an unfettered justification for a US attack.  I cannot see how Kerry can walk back from his statement.  The question is why did Kerry make such a statement today?  The UN Inspectors are going to issue their report probably on Monday–why not wait for their corroboration before declaring war?  Third, why would Kerry make such a statement before getting Congress on board for an attack?  If the evidence is so compelling, then it is far simpler to tell a few members of Congress before one tries t

The Portuguese Constitutional Court has ruled that the latest IMF/EU austerity plan is not constitutional.  The plan, which had called for a dramatic reduction in the number of public employees as a way of reducing the Portuguese budget deficit, had been a condition of financial assistance to Portugal to pay off its loans.  The decision makes the implementation of the plan impossible, and it is not known whether the money will now be forthcoming.