SYRIA PEACE PLAN: West Moves To Kill Off "Important First Step" To End Violence
Clinton Pushes So-called Opposition’s Demand For ‘Regime Change Or Nothing’ - No sooner had Kofi Annan, the special United Nations envoy to Syria, announced scoring “an important first step” towards implementing a peace plan in the war-torn country, the US and Western powers were scrambling to scupper the goalposts. US secretary of state Hillary Clinton led Western efforts to undermine the peace bid by appearing to abandon recently agreed terms for a ceasefire that would have included all parties in Syria. In responding to the peace plan development, Clinton shifted the burden of responsibility for violence on to the Syrian government and backed the demands of fractious “opposition groups” for Syria’s President Bashar Al Assad to step down. After more than a week of shuttle diplomacy that first began with Kofi Annan winning the unanimous support for his plan at the United Nations Security Council, the former UN secretary general revealed on Tuesday that the government of Syria’s President Assad had accepted his six-point proposal to bring an end to the violence that has racked Syria for the past year. The primary point of the peace plan is for all armed groups, including the Syrian state forces, to call a ceasefire to enable a process of dialogue.
Bill Van Auken: In wake of Syria peace plan, US steps up bid for regime-change