The Obama administration’s new proposal to Russia on Syria is more extensive than previously known. It would open the way for deep cooperation between U.S. and Russian military and intelligence agencies and coordinated air attacks by American and Russian planes on Syrian rebels deemed to be terrorists, according to the text of the proposal I obtained. Secretary of State John F. Kerry plans to discuss the plan with top Russian officials in a visit to Moscow on Thursday. As I first reported last month, the administration is proposing joining with Russia in a ramped-up bombing campaign against Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda’s Syria branch, which is also known as the Nusrah Front. What hasn’t been previously reported is that the United States is suggesting a new military command-and-control headquarters to coordinate the air campaign that would house U.S. and Russian military officers, intelligence officials and subject-matter experts.
The U.S. agreeing to go after al-Nusrah is a 180-degree turn. To date, the U.S. has pushed to exempt al-Nusrah from air strikes, despite a U.N. Security Council resolution that the U.S. voted in favor that instructs all nations to go after that organization. The Syrian War appears to be moving toward an end. E.g., Turkey has just announced that it wants to negotiate an end to that war with Syria, another about-face. Let's see how Saudi Arabia reacts after the notorious 26 pages are released later today in a massively orchestrated mainstream media event. Look for it just before office closing time in D.C. on this Friday afternoon.