Kerry meets diplomats who dissented on Syria policy

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State John Kerry has met with a number of U.S. diplomats who want the Obama administration to expand its military role in Syria.

State Department spokesman John Kirby said Kerry met on Tuesday with about 10 of the 51 authors of a so-called “dissent channel” cable that takes issue with the administration’s current Syria policy and urges more robust action. Citing the confidentiality of the dissent channel process, Kirby declined to discuss specifics of the meeting. However, he said Kerry thanked the authors for their views and said he took them seriously.

Kirby said Kerry believed it was “a good discussion” and “worth having” but would not say if Kerry plans to incorporate the dissenting views into his own policy recommendations in internal administration deliberations.

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