by Stephen Lendman

Washington can't be trusted. It doesn't negotiate in good faith. It never did. For sure, not now. Duplicity defines longstanding US policy.

Are current Obama negotiations more smoke and mirrors deception? Are they pretense, not real? Does he want sustained conflict, not peace? More on this below.

Geneva is a cosmopolitan city. It's a cultural center. It's a well-known multilateral diplomatic world capital. It's a traditional peace talk venue. It's been so for over a century.

It's home to earlier historic decisions. After WW I, it became the League of Nations' home city. The body's Palace of Nations remains largely unchanged today.

Post-WW II, Geneva became Europe's UN home. It's a preferred diplomatic choice. It's in neutral Switzerland. It's an easy flight from Washington or Moscow.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is based there. Nineteenth century Geneva Conventions were drafted there.

So were post-WW II Geneva Conventions I through IV. Subsequent protocols supplemented them there. Common Articles 2 and 3 highlight details.

Geneva is the world's top tough talks choice. It's home to Syrian peace negotiations. It's hosting Iranian nuclear ones.

It's been tough going for both. More on Iran below. Syria prioritizes conflict resolution. It wants terrorism stopped. It wants human suffering ended. It wants equitable, lasting peace.

Obama launched war. He continues it. He could stop it by calling off his dogs. He shows no signs of doing it.

He wants Syrian sovereignty destroyed. He abhors diplomatic conflict resolution. He wants Assad ousted.

He wants his choice for Syria's leader replacing him. He wants Syrians having no say.

On Tuesday, he hosted French President Francois Hollande at the White House. He's France's most unpopular president in modern times.

Perhaps Obama's tenure will end up the same way. Both leaders partner in crimes of war, against humanity and genocide.

On the one hand, Obama said: "Right now we don't think there is a military solution per se to the problem" in Syria.

On the other, he suggested possible US military intervention if other options fail. He's going all-out to assure it. Is he planning bombs away again?

"I always reserve the right to exercise military action on behalf of America's national security interests," he said.

Pursuing US interests involves naked aggression against one independent country after another. It's about total war.

It's about mass slaughter and destruction. It's about bombing countries back to the stone age. It's about creating unspeakable human misery.

It's about resource control. It's about unchallenged US dominance. It's about replacing sovereign governments with pro-Western puppet ones.

It's about crushing democracy. It's about tolerating it nowhere. It's about making the world safe for US corporate interests.

Obama calls the Syrian situation "fluid." All options are being considered. Bet on total war being his top choice.

Peace talks are fake. They're not about resolving conflict. Obama didn't initiate it to quit. He's waging proxy war for regime change.

On January 22, initial talks began. They accomplished nothing. On February 10, round two began. Day one was shaky. So was day two.

UN/Arab League Syrian envoy Lakhdar Brahimi is intermediary for both sides. He's no honest broker. He's Washington's man.

The name of the game is regime change. Not according to government delegates. Syrians alone will decide their future.

Syrian National Council (SNC) representatives are US stooges. They obey Washington diktats. Assad must go, they demand.

Negotiations remain deadlocked. "The beginning of this week (was) as laborious as it was in the first week," said Brahimi. "We are not making much progress." None whatever in halting violence.

Obama wants it this way. He wants his will imposed. Syrian sovereignty is too valuable to lose. Assad capitulation isn't planned.

He didn't send delegates to Geneva to arrange his departure. Syrians alone will decide if he stays or goes.

Brahimi wants transitional governance discussed. Government delegates want Syrians having sole say on who'll lead them. Outside meddling won't be tolerated.

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad wants terrorism discussed. He wants ending fighting addressed.

"Those who come out with statements far removed from what is happening in the meetings have rejected clearly and openly to include terrorism in the conference's discussions, saying that there's no terrorism in Syria, no Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, no Jabhet al-Nusra, and no Islamic Front, and this again proves that they live in an illusionary, unreal, deceptive and false world," he said.

"We cannot accept bypassing the first item - which is the most important one - of the Geneva communique on counterterrorism."

"Those who refuse to discuss this item seek to create and support terrorism to kill the Syrian people."

Halting violence and terrorism come first. Nothing else matters otherwise. Mekdad called on all world countries for support. Save Syrian lives, he urged.

Monday and Tuesday were lost days. SNC delegates insist "there is no terrorism in Syria," said Mekdad. Maybe they believe the earth is flat.

According to SNC spokesman Louay Safi, government delegates are "stalling." They "believe in a military solution," he claims.

They'll more than go half way to resolve things. They have no legitimate peace partner.

SNC stooges are self-serving. They represent Washington. They're detached from ordinary Syrians. They don't represent them.

Syrian delegates prioritize discussing terrorism. They insist as long as talks continue. Odds favor them breaking down entirely.

Stopping violence and ending conflict matter most. Protecting Syrians depends on achieving what they want most.

It's their country. It's their choice. Government delegates represent them. Syrians have full faith in their mission. They deplore SNC stooges. They want no part of replacing Assad.

His political/media advisor Bouthaina Shaaban called political discussions impossible with ravaging nationwide terrorism.

Counterterrorism comes first. Transitional governance depends on what Syrians want. It bears repeating. Outside meddling won't be tolerated.

Government delegates negotiate constructively, she said. They want bloodshed stopped. They want Syrian lives saved.

Daily massacres continue. On February 10, Jabhet al-Nusra terrorists targeted Maan village. It's in Hama's northern countryside.

They slaughtered 42 women, children and elderly victims. They did so in cold blood. Media scoundrels ignored it.

A General Command statement said takfiri armed terrorists attacked Maan. They used Western-supplied weapons. Israel supplies its own.

They pillaged homes. They burned them. They demolished others. They displaced village occupants.

They did so during fake peace talks. "What can we (call) what happened in Maan," said Shaaban? Who slaughtered innocent civilians? Who commits outrageous massacres?

Who talks peace while committing crimes of war and against humanity? SNC delegates ignore stopping bloodshed. Peace talks are a sham. They want power.

They want what benefits them. They're mindless of Syrian suffering. Claiming "transitional government can fight terrorism means they're linked to (it) and the flow of arms" they're receiving, said Shaaban.

They support what they claim to oppose. They "encourage terrorism." They threaten Syria's survival. Obama does most of all.

He wants war. He deplores peace. He's arming, funding, training and directing terrorists. He's doing so while pretending to seek peace.

Shaaban said government delegates "decided that dialogue should be among Syrians under (UN supervision) with no interference from other sides."

Mass rallies across Syria support Assad. They back Syrian counterterrorism efforts. They carried Syrian flags, pictures of Assad and placards honoring martyrs.

They chanted supportive government slogans. They reject foreign interference. They represent what media scoundrels won't report.

They urged all Syrians support their country. They back their army and leadership. They face Washington-supported death squads.

Peace talks are fake. Obama's waging proxy war. A previous article said if past is prologue, expect direct US intervention.

Peace talks are smoke and mirrors deception. They're designed to fail. Expect Assad to be blamed.

Direct US intervention is one false flag away. It's likely. Expect it. Perhaps any time. When manipulated talks fail, bombs away could follow any time.

Are Iranian nuclear negotiations rigged the same way? Was Obama's outreach fake? Previous articles discussed his Joint Plan of Action (JPA) breaches.

He violated JPA provisions twice. Doing so suggests he's subverting talks. He lawlessly imposed sanctions on companies operating legally.

He may or may not back possible new congressional sanctions. On Tuesday, Iranians commemorated their 35th Islamic Revolution anniversary.

Perhaps Obama plans no 36th. He's a warrior president. He tolerates no sovereign independent states. He wants pro-Western stooge ones replacing them.

Duplicitously targeting Iran's peaceful nuclear program is red herring cover for regime change. Do ongoing talks reflect smoke and mirrors deception?

Do war plans masquerade as prioritizing peace. Syria is in the eye of the storm. Iran's turn awaits. Does Obama plan direct US intervention against both countries?

Is he hungry for more war? Does he have more death and destruction in mind? Are nuclear talks just pretense?

He threatened more sanctions on Iran if interim agreement terms are violated. We've "been very clear to the Iranians that there's not going be any letup," he said.

He'll come down like "a ton of bricks" on companies violating US/EU-imposed sanctions.

Washington's Greater Middle East agenda wants unchallenged dominance. It wants it regionally. It wants it everywhere. No-holds-barred tactics are used to achieve it.

Strategy calls for ravaging and destroying one country after another. If Syria falls, will targeting Iran follow? Will war rage throughout Obama's final three years?

Will millions more die? Will countless others suffer? America's entire history reflects one war segueing to others. Does Obama plan more of the same?

He's got all the proving to do to suggest otherwise. His policies and body language give pause for concern.

So does America's permanent war policy. It's longstanding. Is this time different? Smart money says don't bet on it.

Rogue states operate this way. It's Washington's way. It's no way to seek peace. It's sure-fire way to prevent it. War profiteers want things this way. Obama is going all-out to deliver.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity"

http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com

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