What if Kerry's offer to Syria regarding the chemical weapons was no gaffe?

What if Obama's backing down on Syria was the desired outcome?

What if Germany's continuing straddle is merely a play for time?

What if the selection of Obama was for more than pacifying the anti-war crowd, but for pacifying an out-of-control US military-industrial complex?

What if the elite are not on the same team, or have just decided that their primary tool has grown too big for its britches?

Supposedly the US was going to shut Putin out of the G-8 / now G-7 (once again).  It didn't go as planned:

The Russian leader also had a meeting on Friday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.  "It was quite long – we were talking for about an hour. The same issues were raised. The most substantive conversation, of course, was my conversation with the president of the French Republic.

We had a more detailed discussion on our bilateral contacts, on our economic ties, and on international problems, including the Iranian nuclear problem and Syria," Putin said. "It seems to me that that exchange of opinions was very useful," he said.

The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Francois Hollande lasted more than an hour and a half on Thursday evening.