This is the thing they are pitching as a “win”?
Via NY Post:
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gets to stay in power — and keep his chemical weapons for a year — under a Russian-sponsored deal that critics slammed as undermining American leverage in the Mideast.
Under the pact reached Saturday by Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Assad must submit an inventory of his chemical arsenal this week but has until mid-2014 to dispose of it.
Kerry said the first inspection of Syrian weapons will be in November and destruction will begin sometime next year.
The UN Security Council is expected to back the deal with a resolution that could bring sanctions if Syria fails to comply.
While the White House hailed the agreement, some lawmakers assailed it as the latest fumble by the Obama administration in its handling of the Syrian crisis.
Arizona Sen. John McCain and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham warned that America’s enemies will see the deal as “an act of provocative weakness” that could spur Iran to continue pushing for nuclear weapons.
Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican and ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said the Obama administration must reinforce its support for rebel forces and reassure US allies that America can counter threats from Iran and other nations.