UNISCI - Universidad Complutense de Madrid

UNISCI Discussion Papers, Nº 33 (Octubre / October 2013) ISSN 1696-2206Obama administration found itself virtually required to act aggressively against the allegedviolation of a so-called “Red Line” long since established by its own declarations. 61 Theupshot was that the President ordered Tomahawk-laden warships and submarines to positionsoffed the Syrian coast and informed the American people he was contemplating a limitedmilitary strike to ensure that Damascus would pay for having used a weapon of massdestruction against its own people. At this point Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov,responding to a clear diplomatic signal from Secretary of State Kerry, suggested a diplomaticresolution to the crisis: Syria—while not admitting guilt for the August 21 gas attack—wouldsurrender its complete stock of chemical weapons to the international community which, inturn, would then destroy those same weapons. In return, the United States would not attack.The final act of this fascinating diplomatic ballet has not been reached yet.Still, it remains clear that if an American president is going to rescue the two-stateproject from the headlong rush into expansionism that Israel's right-wing governments havepromoted, Washington must very soon draw the line at countenancing further Israeli steps toundermine that solution. This, of course, will almost certainly require a major politicalconfrontation between the U. S. and Israeli governments. President Obama should not havebalked at the prospect earlier. So long as the United States retains its commitment to ensureIsrael's security, he or any other president, would probably still be able to count on the supportof most of the American people, including the bulk of American Jews, as well as that of theinternational community, and, quite possibly, a significant measure of support within Israel aswell.The real question is whether President Obama will have the required political courage toconfront the issue effectively in a second term that may otherwise witness the full demise ofthe two-state option.61 “America, Syria and chemical weapons: Guttering, choking, drowning”, The Economist, August 27, 2013, athttp://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2013/08/america-syria-and-chemical-weapons.187