On May 31, US Secretary of State John Kerry offered his most potent rebuke yet of Russia’s support for the Assad government — but not because of the inherent risk the sale of missiles poses to the people of Syria.
The New York Times reported Kerry as saying, “[The sale of S-300 missiles to the Assad regime] is not, in our judgment, responsible because of the size of the weapon, the nature of the weapon and what it does to the region in terms of Israel’s security.” His statement is a clear example of what the world already knows — for the United States, its strategic red line doesn’t appear to be primarily the loss of human lives in Syria, but Israel’s security the way Israel defines it.
