Vlad Impales Kerry on Syria

This is something.

[Russian President Vladimir Putin] accused US Secretary of State John Kerry of outright lying to Congress about al Qaeda’s role fighting on the rebel side of the Syrian civil war. He said, “they lie beautifully, of course. I saw debates in Congress. A congressman asks Mr Kerry: ‘Is al Qaeda there?’ He says: ‘No, I am telling you responsibly that it is not,'”

“Al Qaeda units are the main military echelon, and they know this,” he said, referring to the United States. “It was unpleasant and surprising for me – we talk to them, we proceed from the assumption that they are decent people. But he is lying and knows he is lying. It’s sad.”

Here is the exchange that Putin is referring to.

SEN. JOHNSON: What do we know about the opposition? I mean, what is — have we been tracking them for the last two years? I mean, it seems like — and this is more of an impression I have as opposed to any exact knowledge, but it seems like initially, the opposition was maybe more Western-leaning, more moderate, more democratic, and as time has gone by, it’s degraded, become more infiltrated by al-Qaida. That — is that basically true? Or to — (inaudible) — has that happened?

SEC. KERRY: No, that is — no, that is actually basically not true. It’s basically incorrect. The opposition has increasingly become more defined by its moderation, more defined by the breadth of its membership and more defined by its adherence to some, you know, democratic process and to an all-inclusive, minority-protecting constitution, which will be broad-based and secular with respect to the future of Syria. And that’s very critical.

Kerry provided no evidence to back up his assertion. The rebels themselves appear to have loudly disagreed with it today. Our experiences in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Egypt suggest that what Kerry said is far from the truth.

Putin is right, and this is why it’s prudent to be very skeptical of anything the Obama administration is saying. Just today they have been caught out in two HUGE lies related to this war they want — Obama declaring that he didn’t set the “red line,” and Kerry lying about the nature of the rebellion in Syria. These are not small lies, they are large, brazen, in your face lies.

Trust them if you want. I don’t.