Skip to main content

John Kerry's Syria File

Secretary of State John Kerry, a veteran and critic of the Vietnam war, is now himself a decision maker regarding U.S. policy toward the civil war in Syria, writes Geoffrey Aronson.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during a news conference with Prince Saud al-Faisal (not pictured) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh March 4, 2013.   REUTERS/Jacquelyn Martin/Pool (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3EK39

The Obama administration's newly minted secretary of state was a young man of 28 when, as leader of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, he famously challenged the nation to face the demons it had created in pursuit of an unattainable victory in Vietnam.

“We are asking Americans to think about that because how do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam?” he told the tired old men of the Senate in 1971 in remarks he had prepared only the night before. "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?“

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.