Another picture John Kerry would like you to forget

Here's another picture John Kerry would like you to forget. On Monday, I posted a picture of Kerry and his wife having dinner with Assad and his wife in Damascus. This picture is part of the same trip. It's from Kerry's April 2010 meeting with Assad. Here's why he went to Damascus.

On Thursday, Kerry came to town.

Assad on Sunday called on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to ditch negotiations with Israel in favor of “armed resistance.”

Kerry, nonetheless, said in Damascus following a three-hour meeting with Assad that Syria was committed to engaging in peace-making and was essential to the Mideast process.

Does anyone in Washington see a contradiction between those two sentences? (I mean 'official Washington').

“Syria is an essential player in bringing peace and stability to the region,” said Kerry, who has long advocated US engagement with Damascus.

“He believes in engagement with Syria, and that through engagement the Syrians can be convinced to play a more helpful role in the Arab-Israeli process,” a Kerry aide noted. “This is part of his ongoing [efforts].”

In Israel last month, Kerry discussed Syria’s relationship with Iran, saying that “no one should be surprised, given the relationship of the last years, that discussions are continuing between Syria and Iran.”

The two countries are neighbors, he said, “and they have obviously been pushed somewhat together by the events of the last years. My hope is that we can offer a better alternative, a better set of choices.”

What has gone wrong?