Does anyone believe that Kofi Annan scares Bashar Assad?
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Assad is the president of Syria. He enjoys fairly effective control over his country.
Unless there is meaningful change in Syria and an end to the crackdown, President Assad and those around him will find themselves isolated internationally and discredited within Syria.
Kofi Annan was the U.N. Under-Secretary General for peacekeeping operations. He had the responsibilities in regards to the mounting and operation of peacekeeping missions around the world.
Clinton impressed Assad: a young man who appeared to want to be neutral in the Arab-Israeli dispute - an illusion of course, but that's what Assad thought.
It is always an eerie experience to sit among Bashar al-Assad's soldiers.
I never threatened him and no Syrian intelligence officer has ever pointed a gun to his head.
My guess is that before Obama departs, he will adopt some of the more aggressive military options he has been resisting, such as 'safe zones' inside Syria and more aggressive deployment of U.S. special forces.
The presence of jihadis in Syria should be no surprise.
You'd better believe that Putin sees that in Syria, Obama draws a red line and ignores the red line.
Senator Kerry was fooled by Bashar al-Assad.