The toxic confluence of patty-cake and reset

So the Russian foreign minister is warning Secretary Global Test against a US military action against the Assad regime.

Once again, as in Egypt and Libya, we find ourselves in a situation in which we're now waxing indignant against a middle eastern dictator, perhaps getting ready to lob cruise missiles at his strongholds, - but only after we've passed the kind of global test from whence the Secretary of State gets his moniker - after having regarded him as a key strategic asset in regional affairs.

In fact, when Global Test was a Senator, he was downright cozy with the Alawite Baathist in Damascus.

In February 2009, Kerry led a delegation there to engage Syria. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told visiting US members of Congress on Saturday that the United States should ‘move away from a policy based on dictating decisions.’ Assad's guests on Saturday included US Senator John Kerry, who headed the third delegation this week to call on the Syrian president's door as Washington reviews its policies toward countries the previous administration regarded as hostile. Assad told his visitors that future relations should be based on a ‘proper understanding’ by Washington of regional issues and on common interests, SANA news agency reported,” AFP reported at the time.

AFP followed up with this report after the visit stating that Kerry believes "Syria is an essential player in bringing peace and stability to the region":

“President Barack Obama's administration considers Syria a key player in Washington's efforts to revive the stalled Middle East peace process, US Senator John Kerry said in Damascus on Thursday. ‘Syria is an essential player in bringing peace and stability to the region,’ Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a speech after meeting President Bashar al-Assad. ‘Both the United States and Syria have a very deep interest... in having a very frank exchange on any differences (and) agreements that we have about the possibilities of peace in this region,’ he said in the statement.”

[snip]

Kerry praised Assad later in 2011 as being a "very generous" man. "Well, I personally believe that -- I mean, this is my belief, okay? But President Assad has been very generous with me in terms of the discussions we have had. And when I last went to -- the last several trips to Syria -- I asked President Assad to do certain things to build the relationship with the United States and sort of show the good faith that would help us to move the process forward," said Kerry at a think tank.

The linked Weekly Standard  has a photo of the Assads and Senator and Mrs. Global Test having an intimate dinner.

And, of course, through all of our half-cocked attempts at consistent, grown-up policy, Russia has been Assad's staunch ally.  It's also been over this period of time that Putin and the Most Equal Comrade have established a relationship wherein the MEC is Putin's bitch.

Because this regime so utterly disdains America's leadership role on the world stage, it never occurred to any of our declinist overlords to pursue a policy of sternness toward Assad - pressuring him to not be a threat to Israel, and to back out of his alliance with Iran - and have actually frank discussions with Russia on these matters.

And so here we are.  Another scenario in which all good options are gone.