Political Quotes

“Mr. President, in reserving the right to object, ironically, the Syrian Kurds may be closer to having some degree of autonomy or homeland than they have been in decades. With the new arrangement--or rearrangement--of alliances, the Syrian Kurds now will have an alliance with someone who will remain in Syria. Whether you like him or not, the Assad government is there to stay. There was never going to be a U.S. presence for long enough or one great enough to preserve or to create a homeland for them. I think there is every possibility, in alliance with Assad, that there will be some Kurdish arrangement. It happened in Iraq. In Iraq, the oil proceeds are shared. The Kurdish wanted more in Iraq. They didn't get as much as they wanted, but they got some degree of autonomy within their province. I think that sort of encouraging the Syrians Kurds to abandon their country is really premature and doesn't really recognize the fluidity of what is going on on the ground there. There is actually the potential, for the first time in 8 years, to break through to a peace agreement. Peace agreements have been unable to be achieved in the past because people have refused to acknowledge that Assad is staying. It is easy to say Assad is all of the things that he likely is, but it is harder to acknowledge that no matter who he is, he is staying and that peace on the ground will, ultimately, for the Syrian Kurds, probably come through an arrangement with Assad's regime.…”