Syria: Cameron and Obama agree to military strike over chemical weapons

[idahobob]

We take out the Aasad government and install the muslim brotherhood.

Chemical attack, my ass. They tried this one last January and it did not fly. So now they give us the same old, same old, crap. Next there will be some pretext to take out the gov, in Egypt, since they have thrown out the muslim brotherhood.

Damned satan worshiping, communist pigs in D.C.

Bob
III

[The Stig]

They are certainly pushing this one hard. I can't go to a website now without "attacking Syria" being the major focus.

I guess we got things working so well in Egypt it's time to change our focus and fix the shit out of some other countries.

[bacpacker]

Just a thought. Who runs the national bank in Syria? I know Lybia ran their own befor Kadaffi was killed. No longer. My bet is Syria isnt under a federal reserve type system like just about every other country in the world is.

[The Stig]

Original story HERE at the New York Times

John Kerry's Statement on Syria: Secretary of State John Kerry said evidence “strongly indicates” that chemical weapons were used in Syria.
By MICHAEL R. GORDON, ALAN COWELL and RICK GLADSTONE
Published: August 26, 2013 680 Comments

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that the use of chemical weapons in attacks on civilians in Syria last week was undeniable and that the Obama administration would hold the Syrian government accountable for a “moral obscenity” that had shocked the world’s conscience.

U.N. chemical weapons experts visited a hospital where wounded people affected by an apparent gas attack are being treated, in the Damascus suburb of Mouadamiya.

In some of the administration’s most strident language yet, Mr. Kerry accused the Syrian government of cynically seeking to cover up the use of the weapons, rejected its denial of responsibility for a “cowardly crime.”

Mr. Kerry’s remarks, in a prepared statement he read at the State Department, reinforced the administration’s toughening stance on the Syria conflict, which is now well into its third year, and he suggested that the White House, in consultation with America’s allies, was moving closer to a military response.

“The indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity,” Mr. Kerry said.

“By any standard, it is inexcusable,” he went on . “And despite the excuses and equivocations that some have manufactured, it is undeniable.”

Mr. Kerry also said the Syrian government’s refusal to allow immediate access to the attack sites last Wednesday was a telling indicator that it was trying to hide responsibility. Even though the Syrian government finally permitted a United Nations team to investigate starting Monday, he said, the government’s authorization was “too late” to be credible.

“Our sense of basic humanity is offended not only by this cowardly crime but also by the cynical attempt to cover it up,” he said.

Mr. Kerry spoke hours after United Nations inspectors were finally allowed access to one of the attack sites. Despite shooting from unidentified snipers that disabled their convoy’s lead vehicle, the inspectors still managed to visit two hospitals, interview witnesses and doctors and collect patient samples for the first time since the attack last week that claimed hundreds of lives.

Far more of the lengthy story at NYT's online link above.

[Stg1swret]

Another CF in the making. Let them pound the crap out of each other , no need for us to get involved.

[The Stig]

Original story HERE at Washington Post

After Syria chemical allegations, Obama considering limited military strike

By Karen DeYoung and Anne Gearan, Published: August 26 E-mail the writers

President Obama is weighing a military strike against Syria that would be of limited scope and duration, designed to serve as punishment for Syria’s use of chemical weapons and as a deterrent, while keeping the United States out of deeper involvement in that country’s civil war, according to senior administration officials.

The timing of such an attack, which would probably last no more than two days and involve sea-launched cruise missiles — or, possibly, long-range bombers — striking military targets not directly related to Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal, would be dependent on three factors: completion of an intelligence report assessing Syrian government culpability in last week’s alleged chemical attack; ongoing consultation with allies and Congress; and determination of a justification under international law.
Should Western countries intervene in the Syrian conflict?

Such a move, designed as deterrent as well as punishment, would keep the U.S. from engaging deeper.
The world has mostly rejected chemical weapons

Relatives in Nazareth, Israel, mourn victims and wonder what happened.

“We’re actively looking at the various legal angles that would inform a decision,” said an official who spoke about the presidential deliberations on the condition of anonymity. Missile-armed U.S. warships are already positioned in the Mediterranean.

As the administration moved rapidly toward a decision, Secretary of State John F. Kerry said the use of chemical weapons in an attack Wednesday against opposition strongholds on the outskirts of Damascus is now “undeniable.”

Evidence being gathered by United Nations experts in Syria was important, Kerry said, but not necessary to prove what is already “grounded in facts, informed by conscience and guided by common sense.”

The team of U.N. weapons investigators on Monday visited one of three rebel-held suburbs where the alleged attack took place, after first being forced to withdraw when their vehicles came under sniper fire. The Syrian government, which along with Russia has suggested that the rebels were responsible for the chemical attack, agreed to the U.N. inspection over the weekend.

Videos and statements by witnesses and relief organizations such as Doctors Without Borders have proved that an attack occurred, Kerry said. The U.S. intelligence report is to be released this week.

Among the factors, officials said, are that only the government is known to possess chemical weapons and the rockets to deliver them, and its continuing control of chemical stocks has been closely monitored by U.S. intelligence.

There's a lot more of the article at the Washington Post website.

Looks like TPTB are really pushing this agenda hard.

[The Stig]

Original story HERE at BBCnews

Syria crisis: Russia and China step up warning over strike

Russia and China have stepped up their warnings against military intervention in Syria, with Moscow saying any such action would have "catastrophic consequences" for the region.

UN weapons inspectors in the western district of Muadhamiya. 26 Aug 2013 The UN team spoke to witnesses and survivors in
Russia and China have stepped up their warnings against military intervention in Syria, with Moscow saying any such action would have "catastrophic consequences" for the region.

The US and its allies are considering launching strikes on Syria in response to deadly attacks last week.

The US said there was "undeniable" proof of a chemical attack, on Monday.

UN chemical weapons inspectors are due to start a second day of investigations in the suburbs of Damascus.

The UN team came under sniper fire as they tried to visit an area west of the city on Monday.

A spokesman for UK Prime Minister David Cameron says the UK is making contingency plans for military action in Syria.

Mr Cameron has cut short his holiday and returned to London to deal with the Syrian crisis.

"The administration has deliberately left itself almost no room for manoeuvre - its credibility would now be zero if it failed to take some form of military action”

Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich has called on the international community to show "prudence" over the crisis and observe international law.

"Attempts to bypass the Security Council, once again to create artificial groundless excuses for a military intervention in the region are fraught with new suffering in Syria and catastrophic consequences for other countries of the Middle East and North Africa," he said in a statement.

Late on Monday, the US said it was postponing a meeting on Syria with Russian diplomats, citing "ongoing consultations" about alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria.

Hours later, Russia expressed regret about the decision. The two sides had been due to meet in The Hague on Wednesday to discuss setting up an international conference on finding a political solution to the crisis.

The Russian deputy defence minister, Gennady Gatilov said working out the political parameters for a resolution on Syria would be especially useful, with the threat of force hanging over the country.

On Monday, Mr Cameron spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin who said there was no evidence yet that Syria had used chemical weapons against rebels, Mr Cameron's office said.

The official Chinese news agency, Xinhua, said Western powers were rushing to conclusions about who may have used chemical weapons in Syria before UN inspectors had completed their investigation.

Both the Syrian government and rebels have blamed each other for last Wednesday's attacks.

US officials said there was "little doubt" that President Bashar al-Assad's government was to blame.

UN inspectors spent nearly three hours in the western district of Muadhamiya on Monday where they visited two hospitals and interviewed survivors, eyewitnesses and doctors.

A UN spokesman said they had collected some samples.

Earlier in the day, the UN convoy came under fire from unidentified snipers and was forced to turn back before resuming its journey.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the shooting and asked the UN team in Syria to register a complaint.

'Accountability'

In the most forceful US reaction yet, US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday described the recent attacks in the Damascus area as a "moral obscenity".

He said the delay in allowing UN inspectors to the sites was a sign the Syrian government had something to hide.

He said Washington had additional information about the attacks that it would make public in the days ahead.

"What we saw in Syria last week should shock the conscience of the world. It defies any code of morality," Mr Kerry said at a news conference on Monday.

"Make no mistake, President Obama believes there must be accountability for those who would use the world's most heinous weapons against the world's most vulnerable people."

John Kerry: "There is a clear reason that the world has banned entirely the use of chemical weapons"

Washington has recently bolstered its naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean and military leaders from the US, UK and their allies have convened a meeting in Jordan.

Analysts believe the most likely US action would be sea-launched cruise missiles targeting Syrian military installations.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on Monday the West had not produced any proof that President Assad's forces had used chemical weapons.

He was responding to suggestions from some Western countries that military action against the Syrian government could be taken without a UN mandate.

Mr Lavrov said the use of force without Security Council backing would be "a crude violation of international law".

Earlier, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague told the BBC an international military response to the suspected use of chemical weapons would be possible without the backing of the UN.

The UN Security Council is divided, with Russia and China opposing military intervention and the UK and France warning that the UN could be bypassed if there was "great humanitarian need".

In a column in The Times newspaper, former UK PM Tony Blair has written that if the West does not intervene to support freedom and democracy in Egypt and Syria, the Middle East will face catastrophe

The UN says more than 100,000 people have been killed since the uprising against President Assad began more than two years ago. The conflict has produced more than 1.7 million registered refugees.

[The Stig]

Original story HERE at the guardian

Syria crisis: warplanes spotted in Cyprus as tensions rise in Damascus

Signs of advanced readiness at likely hub of air campaign as UN inspection team comes under fire near site of alleged chemical attack

The Guardian, Monday 26 August 2013 14.51 EDT

UN chemical weapons experts visit people affected by the apparent gas attack in Damascus suburb
UN chemical weapons experts visit people affected by the apparent gas attack in Damascus suburb. Photograph: Stringer/Reuters

Warplanes and military transporters have begun arriving at Britain's Akrotiri airbase on Cyprus, less than 100 miles from the Syrian coast, in a sign of increasing preparations for a military strike against the Assad regime in Syria.

Two commercial pilots who regularly fly from Larnaca on Monday told the Guardian that they had seen C-130 transport planes from their cockpit windows as well as small formations of fighter jets on their radar screens, which they believe had flown from Europe.

Residents near the British airfield, a sovereign base since 1960, also say activity there has been much higher than normal over the past 48 hours.

If an order to attack targets in Syria is given, Cyprus is likely to be a hub of the air campaign. The arrival of warplanes suggests that advanced readiness – at the very least – has been ordered by Whitehall as David Cameron, Barack Obama and European leaders step up their rhetoric against Bashar al-Assad, whose armed forces they accuse of carrying out the chemical weapons attack last Wednesday that killed many hundreds in eastern Damascus.

The standoff between Syria and the west intensified when a UN inspection team came under sniper fire as it approached the site of the suspected chemical weapons attack.

A spokesman for the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said the vehicle was "deliberately shot at multiple times" by unidentified snipers while travelling in the buffer zone between rebel and government-controlled territory.

After replacing the vehicle, the team returned to the area, where they met and took samples from victims of the apparent poisoning. The attack on the inspectors came shortly after Ban said there could be "no impunity" for the use of chemical weapons, saying the international community owed it to the families of the victims to take action in Syria.

Speaking in Seoul, Ban said the UN inspection could not be delayed. "Every hour counts," he said. "We have all seen the horrifying images on our television screens and through social media. Clearly this was a major and terrible incident."

A Syrian doctor who runs a makeshift medical clinic in the Mouadamiya district of west Ghouta in Damascus, where the chemical weapons attack is said to have taken place, spoke to the Guardian by Skype after meeting the inspection team.

"The UN inspection committee was supposed to come at 10am today," Dr Abu Akram said. "The route between the Four Seasons Hotel [where the inspectors were staying] and Mouadamiya is only 15 minutes. But UN convoy was targeted by gunfire and when they are arrived we could see bullet traces on their cars. They arrived at 2pm."

He said there had been doctors with the UN team, who took blood and urine samples, as well as strands of hair, from the victims in the hospital. They also recorded statements on from the victims on video.

"They visited the hospital and talked to more than 20 victims," he said. "They were supposed to stay for six hours but they stayed for an hour and a half only."

Akram said he then accompanied the team to the site where a chemical rocket had fallen, where they collected samples from the soil and animals. "They took a chicken [but] they refused to take the chemical rocket," Akram said, speculating that the Syrian regime had refused permission for the team to take military hardware.

After an a hour and a half, the inspectors received an order from the Syrians to leave immediately, he said. "The security forces told the committee if they do not leave now, they cannot guarantee their security. They could not visit the main six sites where the chemical rockets had fallen and lots of people were killed," he added.

Akram said his clinic had received about 2,000 victims of the gas attack, about 500 of them in a critical condition. "Eighty people were pronounced dead at the hospital and I now have 20 victims in intensive care, he said."

The UN team spoke to his patients and asked them where they had been when the rockets landed. "Most of the people were civilians, sleeping at their homes," he said. "The committee did not visit any house in the district. We asked them if they could supply us with medical aid but they said that they do not have the authority to do so."
Likely targets in Syria Likely targets in Syria

The US, Britain and their allies are likely to wait until the UN team has compiled its report and left Syria before carrying out any air strikes against the government. If the strikes go ahead, they are expected to focus on the strongest sinews of the Assad regime's power.

Hitting stockpiles of chemical weapons could appear more proportionate but that would bring with it the risk of dispersing neurotoxins over a wide area, potentially causing even more harm than Wednesday's gas attack.

For that reason, military experts think that if the western allies do decide to strike, they will aim to deliver a punishment and a deterrent against any further chemical weapons use.

To do so, they will probably concentrate their fire on the regime's greatest strength – the elite units on which it relies militarily and which are most tied to its chemical weapons programme.

Foremost among these is the 4th armoured division, an overwhelmingly Alawite formation headed by the president's brother, Maher al-Assad. It has its headquarters in the Mazzeh military complex in the southern suburbs of Damascus.

Another likely target is the regime's Republican Guard, another Allawite diehard unit, which is deployed around the presidential palace and in the Qasioun military complex to the north of the Syrian capital.

Much will depend on whether the chosen option is a strictly limited strike with a handful of cruise missiles, intended as demonstration of intent, or a more complex, further-reaching campaign involving waves of stealth bombers.

That would involve a huge amount of ordnance being targeted at Syria's substantial air defences, which include multiple arrays of Russian-made missiles. Such a campaign would dramatically increase the risk of causing casualties among civilians and perhaps even Russian advisers, who western intelligence officials say are present in Syria helping the regime's troops train on and maintain the anti-aircraft missiles.

Both options have shortcomings. The more limited version could be rejected by the regime's friends and foes as "pin-prick strikes" with political rather than military significance. The longer, more complex option threatens to drag the US, Britain and their allies into a more open-ended conflict that would help Assad to define his role as a bulwark of resistance against western imperialism.

[The Stig]

Original story HERE at breitbart

France Ready to 'Punish' Syria for Chemical Weapon Attack
by Elizabeth Sheld 27 Aug 2013, 8:48 AM PDT 35 post a comment

President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday France is prepared to "punish" those responsible for gassing innocent civilians in Damascus.

Speaking to an annual meeting in Paris of dozens of French ambassadors posted around the world. "France is ready to punish those who took the decision to gas the innocent. "

Hollande stated it seemed certain that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad was behind the chemical attack.

Last Thursday, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius spoke to BFM-TV saying the country was prepared to retaliate with force if the use of chemical weapons were confirmed. "If it is proven, France's position is that there must be a reaction," Fabius said.

But he elaborated that while there would need to be a "reaction with force," it would be "impossible" to send ground troops. On Friday Laurent said "All the information at our disposal converges to indicate that there was a chemical massacre near Damascus and that the Bashar regime is responsible," while visiting Ramallah in the West Bank.

[ladyhk13]

This is a civil war we need to stay out of.no matter which side we chose we lose. Why would we get involved? Because we see kids dying? Kids are dying all over the world. If we had a civil war here I would be pissed if another country invaded to help either side. Get out of the Middle East and let them deal with their own problems unless they become a direct threat to our ally Israel or attack our embassies. Drill our own oil right here at home and work with Canada on the pipeline so we don't need ANY mid east oil. Non of those Muslim countries give a crap about us and most hate us and our Christianity....you can't push our politics and way of life on barbarians.