Day: September 18, 2013
Out in the cold
Reuters published this piece today, under the title “What is next for Syria’s opposition?”:
The Syrian regime is crowing victory. The Russians are satisfied at preventing an American military intervention. President Obama is glad to have avoided a Congressional vote against it. Israel is pleased to see Syria’s chemical weapons capability zeroed out, provided the framework agreement reached last week is fully implemented. Even Iran is backing it, while continuing to deny that the regime was responsible for using chemical weapons.
What about the Syrian opposition?
The agreement on chemical weapons leaves them out in the cold. Bashar al-Assad is now vital to implementation of the agreement and will procrastinate implementing it for as long as possible. While destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons capability is supposed to be completed by mid-2014, the logistical challenges involved are colossal. Just accounting for and collecting the 1,000 tons of material will be an enormous task, before getting to deployment of observers and physical destruction, which will likely require shipping the material out of Syria to Russia. Wartime conditions will double the difficulties and prolong the process, even if the regime decides to cooperate fully. That’s unlikely. Read more
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Background check, mate
Agents of all sorts interview me a lot for security clearances. One of my students, co-workers, former employees, neighbors or acquaintances seems always to be trying to get one. This is one of several uncompensated tasks (letters of recommendation, job referrals, career advice, informational interviews, academic counseling) that take up far more time than I every imagined.
But I have never turned away one of the agents. What they are doing is necessary: how will these folks ever get a government job, or the government determine that they are suitable, without my responding to the usual litany of questions?
They might go something like this in the case of a fictitious Alexis Aaron, a stand-in for you know who: Read more
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