memeorandum: American Ineffectualism (Mark Steyn/National Review)

2:15 PM ET, September 14, 2013

Top Items:

Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:

Deal Reached to Destroy Chemical Arms in Syria — GENEVA — The United States and Russia reached a sweeping agreement on Saturday that called for Syria's arsenal of chemical weapons to be removed or destroyed by the middle of 2014 and indefinitely stalled the prospect of American airstrikes.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Monkey Cage, The Mahablog, Via Meadia, americanthinker.com, The Verge and Gawker

US Department of State:

Framework for Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons — Media Note — Washington, DC — Taking into account the decision of the Syrian Arab Republic to accede to the Chemical Weapons Convention and the commitment of the Syrian authorities to provisionally apply the Convention prior …

Discussion: Telegraph, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Hinterland Gazette, BBC, emptywheel, Outside the Beltway and Taylor Marsh

Anne Gearan / Washington Post:

U.S., Russia reach agreement on seizure of Syrian chemical weapons arsenal — GENEVA — The United States and Russia agreed Saturday on an outline for the identification and seizure of Syrian chemical weapons and said Syria must turn over an accounting of its arsenal within a week.

Discussion: Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, The Hill and The Reaction

Bradley Klapper / Associated Press:

Obama's Larger Syria Strategy in Disarray — After 2½ years of civil war in Syria, President Barack Obama's larger policy is in disarray even as his administration, with help from Russia, averted a military showdown for the time being. — In an address to the American people …

Discussion: Politico and CNN

Conal Urquhart / Guardian:

Syria: US and Russia agree chemical weapons deal — Inspectors to be given ‘immediate unfettered access’ with a ‘comprehensive list’ of weapons from Damascus within a week, says Kerry — The United States and Russia have agreed that Syrian chemical weapons will be placed under international control …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Balloon Juice

Associated Press:

US-Russia reach agreement on Syria weapons — GENEVA (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Saturday they have reached an agreement on a framework for Syria to destroy all of its chemical weapons, and raised the specter …

Discussion: NO QUARTER USA NET, Politico and Weasel Zippers

CNN:
U.S., Russia agree to framework on Syria chemical weapons

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Business Insider, NBCNews and BBC

New York Times:
U.S.-Russia Talks on Syria's Arms Make Progress

Discussion: National Review, Connecting.the.Dots and Hot Air

Louis Charbonneau / Reuters:
U.N. report expected to confirm chemical arms used in Syria: Ban

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, New York Times, NPR, Associated Press and The Verge

CNN:
With apparent ‘opening,’ U.S. and Russia extend Syria talks another day

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Politico and New York Times

Salon:

Mann and Ornstein: “Brighter future for politics and policy requires a different Republican Party” — The Republicans have become a party beholden to zealots — with little respect for science, facts or compromise — From the perspective of November 7, the day after the election, change looked promising.

Discussion: Brad DeLong

Karoli / Crooks and Liars:

John Boehner Has A Little Problem With His FEC Disclosures — Way back in 2009 I had a look at John Boehner's FEC disclosures for his Freedom Project PAC and wondered then whether anyone would take notice of how popular he was with corporate PAC donors. It's taken four long years …

The Atlantic Online:

How to Make School Better for Boys — Start by acknowledging that boys are languishing while girls are succeeding. — I recently appeared on MSNBC's The Cycle to discuss the new edition of my book The War Against Boys. The four hosts were having none of it. A war on boys?

Discussion: Althouse and Via Meadia

Lucy McCalmont / Politico:

Bill Maher: U.S. looking like Zimmerman — Liberal comedian Bill Maher said Friday the U.S. is looking “more like George Zimmerman” with regards to military force and criticized arguments over intervention in Syria. — “Forget the Syria debate, we need a debate on why we're always debating whether to bomb someone.

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette

Mark Steyn / National Review:

American Ineffectualism — For generations, eminent New York Times wordsmiths have swooned over foreign strongmen, from Walter Duranty's Pulitzer-winning paeans to the Stalinist utopia to Thomas L. Friedman's more recent effusions to the “enlightened” Chinese Politburo.

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Jennifer Haberkorn / Politico:

Obamacare D-Day becomes a soft launch — For months all eyes have been on October 1 — the first day people can sign up for Obamacare. — But as that day approaches, many people working on the nuts and bolts of the health law are tamping down any expectations of a sign-up stampede.