Syria resolution - Averting the military plan

The US Secretary of State John Kerry appears to have trumped his boss, President Barack Obama, by having taken seriously his proposal that Syria avert American military action by abandoning its chemical weapons.

Russia, Syria’s arms supplier and ally, immediately embraced Mr Kerry’s suggestion and called on President Bashar al-Assad to not only agree to placing the chemical weapons storage sites under international control, but also to their subsequent destruction.

This could provide a face-saving exit from militarism for Obama who has spent the past week making the case for a unilateral strike amid international opposition and little support from Congress or the American public.

However, it may be that Obama is a wilier fox than most people have given him credit for and used the threat of air strikes as leverage for a diplomatic solution supported by Russia.