Cable urging US Syria strikes 'very good'

US Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday he had read a memo from a group of frustrated diplomats urging strikes against the Syrian regime and found it "very good."

The "dissent cable" became public last week after 51 serving US officials signed a call for direct US military action to force Bashar al-Assad's regime to negotiate for peace.

The memo was seen as a criticism of President Barack Obama's cautious approach, but the "dissent channel" is an approved mechanism for diplomats opposed to official policy.

The State Department has already said the dissident mid-level staff will not face retribution for speaking out, and on Monday their boss Kerry appeared to signal support for their views.

Asked at a public event for college students whether he had read the dissenting memo, which was leaked to the press last week, Kerry said: "Yes. It's very good. I'm going to meet with them."

Afterwards, Kerry's spokesman John Kirby said the secretary was not publicly endorsing the policy change suggested by the memo but had found it "a well-written argument."

Asked whether Kerry might take the suggestion of US strikes to Obama, Kirby said "obviously, whatever views, advice or counsel he presents to the president needs to remain private."

"But then also... he has made no bones about the fact that he is not content with the status quo in Syria. We are not content with the status quo in Syria," he added.

Kerry has remained publicly loyal to Obama as the five-year-old carnage in Syria continues, pushing an improbable joint US-Russian plan to lure Assad and the rebels to the negotiating table.

But Kerry's equanimity in the wake of the dissent cable -- an unusual if not an unprecedented rebuke from frontline staff -- supports the Washington conventional wisdom that he is frustrated.

In the memo, the diplomats argue that the "judicious use" of cruise missile and airborne strikes against regime targets could encourage Assad to seek a negotiated solution. 

Source: AFP