US Secretary of State John Kerry, in a meeting last week with a small number of Syrian civilians and others, said he had lost an argument within the Obama administration to back up diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed in Syria with the threat of using military force, the New York Times reported on Friday.
The newspaper said it had obtained an audio recording of the 40-minute discussion that took place at the Dutch Mission to the United Nations on Sept. 22.
The approximately 20 participants included representatives of four Syrian groups that provide education, rescue and medical services in rebel-held areas and diplomats from three or four countries, the Times said.
The meeting took place days after a cease-fire Kerry had negotiated with Russia had collapsed and rebel-held areas of the Syrian city of Aleppo were coming under heavy air strikes as Moscow and Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government rejected a US plea to halt flights.The Times said Kerry repeatedly complained that his diplomacy had not been backed by a serious threat of military force.
“I think you’re looking at three people, four people in the administration who have all argued for use of force, and I lost the argument,” Kerry said in an audio clip posted on the Times website.

Source: Arab News