U.S. Violation of Syrian Ceasefire Prompts Emergency UN Meeting

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Reuters is reporting: “U.S.-led coalition air strikes reportedly killed dozens of Syrian soldiers on Saturday, endangering a U.S.-Russian brokered ceasefire and prompting an emergency UN Security Council meeting as tensions between Moscow and Washington escalated.”

CHARLES GLASS, charlesglassbooks at gmail.com, @charlesmglass
Glass was recently in Syria for the New York Review of Books and was on assignment in Iraq for Harper’s Magazine. His latest book is Syria Burning: ISIS and the Death of the Arab Spring, from Verso Books. He was ABC News Chief Middle East correspondent and recently wrote the piece “In the Syrian Deadlands.” He was just on the accuracy.org news release “Syria Burning.

REESE ERLICH, ReeseErlich2 at hotmail.com, @ReeseErlich
Foreign correspondent and book author Erlich said today: “The U.S. bombed Syrian government soldiers and a Syrian military base, with estimates off 62-90 dead and over 100 wounded. The U.S. says the attack was accidental.

“However, on Sunday, Secretary of State John Kerry attacked the Assad regime for continuing its air strikes and for not allowing delivery of relief supplies to besieged cities — only briefly apologizing for the U.S.-caused death and destruction.

“The tone of the comments suggest the bombing raid was an intentional effort to pressure Assad and the Russians. Regardless of the intent, objectively the attacks are a huge setback to the announced U.S.-Russian ceasefire and proposed military cooperation against extremist rebels.

“The Russian government has called for a special meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the matter.”

The paperback edition of Erlich’s book Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World Can Expect, has just been published this week.