Kerry buys chocolate in Geneva, where he is working on Syria

[karynnj]

http://www.20min.ch/ro/news/geneve/story/13719633?redirect=mobi&nocache=0.5145362833615825

[MBS]

1. : )

As always, Sec. Kerry has the right priorities.

[karynnj]

6. Even better, he took time to thank the first responders to his bike crash

https://twitter.com/JohnKerry/status/727202264033693696

[MBS]

12. Wonderful.

He's always been genuinely appreciative of first responders. I remember that that was a real emphasis of his 2004 campaign.

I love it that he has the grace and self-confidence to give credit to people, always.

[YvonneCa]

2. LBN...

...

[karynnj]

3. Well - my post on the NYT article got locked because it was analysis not Late breaking news

I guess I could put this ... and add that an earlier time in Geneva, he ended up with the frame work of the Iran Deal ... on which the NYT says...

At any rate, it was up all morning.

[MBS]

4. I thought it was really silly that they locked that.

Your arguments for LBN were sound.

[karynnj]

5. Because they had new facts and because HRC has made claims that do not match

I think they are wrong, but it is true that it is an article on something that reached fruition 10 months ago, they are technically right. I realized it fits good reads better, but who even bothers to look there - so I knew when putting it up, that I was doing it because LBN is the slowest moving most serious big forum. (I did cut and paste it and put it in GD, where it sunk pretty quickly. )

It did get 620 views - and is substantial enough that people might remember the next time HRC claims Kerry "finalized the deal" - as if he waltzed in and signed the result of her work.

To me the most damning paragraphs were those contrasting that Obama was very open to creating a bridge - HRC saw negotiations as more a way to expose that Tehren would rebuff us. (sounds like her "hunting down" the Chinese - I would love to know how that debate line played in that proud country with its long history and culture)

[YvonneCa]

8. That NYT piece was excellent! It made...

... the case you often make here about how HRC and Kerry have had different approaches toward the Iran Deal and it really validates the frustration some of us here have expressed when she claims ownership of the final deal.
It's a very nuanced difference, but a difference that could be vital in foreign policy going forward. JMHO.
I am glad you posted it where it will be seen by more people.

[karynnj]

10. I thought it excellent too

I had based a lot of what I wrote on a much less detailed Boston Globe article. What I didn't know was that Clinton was as completely reluctant as she was described here. The interesting speculation is who gave all that detail out. It could not have been Kerry, because he would not have seen the intra administration interactions - although he would have been well aware that she sat on the possibility for 18 months.

Like past articles, also in the NYT, there are the comments that suggest that unspecified people were concerned that Kerry was too diplomatically aggressive or something. Given how successful he has been, you wonder how much comes down to them being jealous and Kerry really believing in diplomacy and rejecting the neoliberal experts.

At the end of any administration, there will be jockeying for credit on all big deals ... and assigning blame for failures. President Obama will get credit for many really significant things in his time - and the two biggest foreign policy ones will be Iran and climate change. I think it will progressively be seen that both of these things would not have happened without John Kerry. (Obama gets credit for putting him in that position and giving him the latitude to make those things work.)

What last week -- and this article -- tell me is that Kerry's legacy is in very good shape. It was very clear from the comments of Ken Burns and Doug Brinkley, that both are very aware of his contributions over his entire life.

[YvonneCa]

11. History will smile on John Kerry...

...for the strength of his actions that were mostly 'below the radar.' IMO his influence long term will be very positive...and positively viewed.
What is it they say about character? It is what you do when no one is looking. 🇺🇸

Could it be Biden?

[YvonneCa]

7. I hope you know that I...

...was kidding. I loved the story about him returning to Geneva for the first time since his bike accudent. I'm glad he had a chance to thank the first responders. And the occasion definitely called for chocolate... 😉

[karynnj]

9. Oh, sorry -- of course, I knew that

I was just annoyed as they usually have a lot more "play" in their definitions. I really liked that he went to thank the people who helped him -- and the expressions you see on their faces showed that it meant a lot to them.

I just hope that they do the impossible and find a way to get the cessation of hostilities going again in Syria. I can't imagine how they actually get a solution there though, but hopefully they will at some point. It seems like every side has their own reality. It really seems that they never succeeded in really drawing the lines between Al Nusra and "other" rebels who were participating in the cessation. At least ISIS seems geographically distinct. Still, it was surprising that a ceasefire where they were still fighting 2 groups lasted 2 months.