Syria v Iraq and Bush v Obama on WMD and the Media's Take...

[mal]

Syria regime 'reeling, armed to the teeth' with chemical weapons - Open Channel

Here's the Scary Headline meant to Rally us FOR doing something about Syria:

Syria regime 'reeling, armed to the teeth' with chemical weapons

Seems like a Conclusion Drawn from Fact, doesn't it?...

From within the Story:

“No one but the Syrians knows the inventory, and if the rebels overrun one of these depots, there are worries about the physical control of the weapons,”

So I have some Questions... Because if we pull an Iraq over this the Left is likely to Excuse Obama for it... That's a given.

Saddam had and used WMD... It's a Fact.

According to this story only Syria knows about it's WMD... Have they ever killed 10's of thousands with it like Saddam did?

The UN Documented and Sealed 109 Facilities in Iraq that had Banned Long Range Missiles and Stockpiles of WMD just before our Invasion.

By the time we were done playing Footsies with the French and the UN, FIVE MONTHS LATER, they were Missing once we go to the Facilities.

Not "Never Existed"... Missing.

So why is it that the Liberal "Free Press" is NOT questioning the Validity of this Claim about Syria?...

The Experts say that only Syria knows.

It's Obvious why... Obama is President and they Voted for him.

Wouldn't an Invasion at the End of the Summer give Barry a Good Old Fashioned Boost in the Polls?...

Hope that's not what happens.

But right now... That's what this Stinks of.



peace...

 

[waltky]

New boss same as the old boss?...

After the fall of the House of Assad, could Syria be worse?
Fri July 27, 2012 - Editor's note: Gen. Michael V. Hayden, who was appointed by President George W. Bush as CIA director in 2006 and served until February 2009, is a principal with the Chertoff Group, a security consulting firm. He serves on the boards of several defense firms and is a distinguished visiting professor at George Mason University. Hayden is an adviser to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.]

Recent events have left Syria watchers near breathless: government loss of control of border crossings into Iraq and Turkey, rebels temporarily holding portions of Damascus, the unexplained movement of some of Syria's extensive arsenal of chemical weapons, and fighting spreading to the streets of the traditional Alawite stronghold of Aleppo. Most dramatic though was the bombing of a National Security Council meeting in the heart of Syria's defense establishment, the Levantine equivalent of a bomb going off in the White House situation room. Among those killed was Assef Shawkat.

Shawkat was Syria's chief of military intelligence during my time at CIA. The agency spent a great deal of time trying to work with him to get the Syrians to stanch the flow of foreign fighters through Damascus airport and onward into Iraq. The Syrians never offered more than token cooperation, a policy that many in Damascus may now regret as the routes they sponsored have been reversed with fighters now entering Syria from Iraq.

Our assessment at the time that Shawkat was tough, professional and loyal has stood up. Married to President Bashar al-Assad's sister, he seems to have been providing a significant fraction of the regime's spine over the past year. No one who has met al-Assad has come away impressed with the man's leadership or decisiveness. If fate had been more kind, his elder brother Bassel would not have crashed his car and died in an automobile accident and al-Assad could have lived out his days in an environment for which he was much better suited: doing eye surgery in London, building a happy family with his thoroughly Anglicized Sunni wife.

Personally ill-equipped to enact any of the "reforms" he sometimes called for, unable or unwilling to bend the Assads, Mahkloufs and other Alawite clans to a new direction, al-Assad is now doubling down on his father's violent response to opposition with none of Hafez Assad's skill or political sense. I hesitate to call last week's events a tipping point, but Shawkatt's death (along with the other senior fatalities) will shake the Alawites to their core. Although some are irreversibly all in, there will certainly be others ready to cut their losses. And so, many observers are now focusing on endgame scenarios, particularly what a successor regime might look like.

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U.S. increasing contacts with Syrian rebels
July 27th, 2012 - The United States has increased contacts with Syrian opposition officials in recent week, a senior U.S. official said Friday.

The official explained that "the U.S. and others are playing more of an advisory role to the opposition now." Underpinning those increased contacts with the opposition is the effort to begin to plan for the post-Assad regime. Still, any action so far stops short of arming the opposition. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday that lethal support is not being discussed. "We have been discussing a range of options for some time. Among them would be assisting the opposition," Gen. Martin Dempsey said in a news conference in San Francisco. "I've never heard any discussion of assisting them with lethal support. That is to say, the discussions that I've been involved with were about providing non-lethal support."

U.S. officials clearly are talking to those who have spoken to defectors and have spoken directly with opposition leaders, but don't want to offer a lot of detail. The official would say only that "we are sharing perspectives." Part of this, he said, involves talking about the dynamics of the situation and the potential "end game" and, he adds, "talking about how the opposition might be able to achieve their goal more quickly."

That includes vetting opposition forces and looking at how various groups might be able to "coalesce after Assad goes." The discussion, the official told CNN, includes transition goals. The official says it's not clear yet if U.S. policy would be to maintain the current Syrian military and government structure, to a large extent to try to avoid what happened in Iraq. And as he says, the United States might not have a voice in that anyway.

Source

 

[mal]

Did I post this?...



peace...

 

[waltky]

Looks like Assad is on the ropes...

Syria's ex-PM Riad Hijab says regime is collapsing
14 August 2012 : Former Syrian PM Riad Hijab gave a news conference in Amman, Jordan

Former Syrian PM Riad Hijab, who defected to Jordan last week, has said the Syrian government is collapsing "morally, financially and militarily". Speaking in the Jordanian capital, Amman, he said the regime controlled no more than 30% of Syrian territory. He called on the opposition abroad to unite and on the Syrian army to stand alongside its people. UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos has held talks in Damascus in an attempt to increase the flow of emergency aid.

Mr Hijab told a news conference he was joining the rebel side and urged other political and military leaders to break away from President Bashar al-Assad's regime. "I urge the army to follow the example of Egypt's and Tunisia's armies - take the side of people," he added. This is the first time Mr Hijab has spoken publicly since fleeing to Jordan with his family last week. The US has responded by lifting sanctions it had earlier imposed on him because of his role in the Syrian government.

The highest-ranking political figure to defect from the Assad regime, Mr Hijab explained how he had decided to leave Syria on 5 August before spending three days travelling to Jordan with the help of the Free Syrian Army (FSA). "Syria is full of officials and military leaders who are awaiting the right moment to join the revolt," he asserted. Damascus is also facing the prospect of increased diplomatic isolation, as the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) meets in Saudi Arabia to consider a recommendation from foreign ministers to suspend Syria from the 57-member group.

Iran is resisting the proposal. "We have to look for other ways, means and mechanisms for resolving conflicts and crises," Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said. President Bashar al-Assad has sent an aide, Buthaina Shaaban, to Beijing for talks on the crisis with Chinese officials. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said it was also considering an invitation to members of the Syrian opposition. Beijing has opposed recent UN resolutions on Syria, but backs a ceasefire between the warring parties as well as political dialogue.

Rebel commander

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Islamic Bloc Moves to Expel Syria, Leaving Iran Isolated
August 14, 2012 – A decision by the world’s Islamic nations to expel the Assad regime from its ranks comes as a particular blow to Syria’s closest ally, Iran, and underscores the widening Sunni-Shi’ite rift.

Iran strongly opposed the call to eject Syria over its violent crackdown, but found little support for its stance Monday as foreign ministers from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) laid the groundwork for an OIC leaders’ summit, being held in Mecca, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and Wednesday. The ministers’ recommendation to expel Syria, expected to be formally announced on Wednesday, leaves Iran isolated in the community of Islamic nations, just days before it hoped to enhance its global standing by hosting a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), a bloc of developing countries.

Iran had tried to counter the Syria focus by insisting that the OIC summit also deal with the situation in Bahrain, where Iran is backing its Shi’ite brethren in their demand for reforms from the Sunni monarchy that has ruled the small island nation for more than two centuries. Iranian deputy foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Iran wanted leaders of the OIC to address the Syrian and Bahraini crises “simultaneously,” and also to give significant attention to “Palestine.” The Palestinian issue always features prominently at OIC gatherings and this time will be no exception, but Saudi Arabia and the neighboring Gulf states will fend off Tehran’s attempts to push Bahrain up the agenda.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said in an address to his OIC counterparts that the summit was being convened “to ward off temptation and address the arising serious risks, including extremism, intolerance, incitement, violence and disintegration of the Islamic nation’s consensus.” (A deputy read out the speech on behalf of Saud, who is convalescing after surgery.) Saudi King Abdullah called the gathering – only the fourth “extraordinary” summit in the OIC’s 43 year-old history – “to examine the situation in many countries of the Islamic world, intensify efforts to confront this situation, address the sources of discord and division therein, reunify the Islamic ummah [community] and promote Islamic solidarity.”

If anything, the summit seems more likely to enhance Sunni solidarity and entrench the sectarian divide: The Syrian opposition is backed by Sunni powerhouses led by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, while President Bashar Assad’s dwindling circle of allies comprise Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon, with some sympathizers in Iraq’s Shi’ite-led government. Some key Islamic states say they remain neutral; Pakistan, for example, abstained when the U.N. Security Council voted last month on a Syria resolution that was ultimately vetoed by Russia and China.

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Panetta: Syria no-fly zone not on front burner
August 14, 2012 WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says plans to set up a no-fly zone over parts of Syria are "not on the front burner," despite persistent calls from rebel forces there that they need the added protection from escalating regime airstrikes.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Monday, Panetta said he is confident the U.S. could successfully enforce a no-fly zone over Syria, but doing so would require a "major, major policy decision" that has not yet been made. "We have planned for a number of contingencies that could take place and one of those possible contingencies is developing a no-fly zone. But we've also pointed out difficulties in being able to implement that," Panetta said. "It's not on the front burner as far as I know." Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said recently that Washington and Turkey are discussing a range of steps, and U.S. officials say all options are on the table, including a no-fly zone over some parts of Syria. Rebel leaders have expressed frustration that the United States has limited its assistance to non-lethal aid. A no-fly zone is one in which outside nations prohibit flights over parts of another country and enforce it militarily.

The U.S. and its NATO allies successfully enforced a no-fly zone over Libya last year, as rebels there made gains and eventually ousted dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Syria, however, has relatively modern air defenses that are far more plentiful and sophisticated than those in Libya. Syria buys its arms from Russia and is backed in its efforts to tamp down the rebels by Iran. Syrian President Bashar Assad's military has significantly stepped up aerial attacks in recent weeks, using missile strikes to push back opposition forces in key fronts such as Aleppo. Civil war has spread across the country, and activists say more than 20,000 people have been killed since the revolt against Assad began in March 2011. Currently, Panetta said, the U.S. is focused on ensuring chemical and biological weapons there are secure and on providing humanitarian and non-lethal assistance to the rebels.

Panetta, 74, spoke at length on a number of topics during the AP interview in his Pentagon office, with his golden retriever, Bravo, lying at his side and playing with a red stuffed lobster toy. Panetta revealed that Pakistan has told U.S. military officials that it plans to launch combat operations against Taliban militants soon in a tribal area near the Afghan border. The North Waziristan region serves as a haven for leaders of the al-Qaida-linked Haqqani network.

Pakistan's military chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, discussed the planned operation with the top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen, Panetta said, adding that he understands that it will begin in the "near future." And while he welcomed the operation, he noted that the main target will be the Pakistani Taliban, rather than the Haqqani network. "They've talked about it for a long time. Frankly, I'd lost hope that they were going do anything about it. But it does appear that they in fact are going to take that step," Panetta said.

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[mal]

Gonna be an Interesting couple of months until that Election...



peace...

 

[waltky]

Not givin' `em what they need ain't gonna help...

Panetta tries to help secure Sinai with intel aid
August 20th, 2012 - Looking to increase security in the Sinai Peninsula, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is offering Egypt a package of classified intelligence-sharing capabilities designed to help it identify military threats in the area and reassure Israel that Egypt can deal with rising militancy along Israel's border, according to a senior Pentagon official.

At the core, is an offer to supply Egypt's military in Sinai with truck-mounted sensors that provide an electronic signal identifying which nation is operating the vehicle. This technology, commonly known as "blue force tracker," has been widely used in Iraq and Afghanistan to identify vehicles at great distances. It is also possible the technology will be offered to the international peacekeeping force in Sinai that includes 700 U.S. troops.

The international force is not authorized to fight extremists, but is facing the potential of increased violence in the region. The official emphasized that nothing has been decided yet, and noted any change in the international peacekeeping force must be agreed to by all nations.

At the same time, the United States is also offering Egypt increased intelligence sharing, including satellite imagery and drone flights and intercepts of cell phone and other communications among militants suspected of planning attacks, according to an Obama administration official.

The package was discussed by Panetta during his recent trips to Egypt and Israel. The administration official emphasized that the offer is aimed strongly at helping Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy improve security in Sinai, but also to reassure Israel. Earlier this month, more than a dozen Egyptian soldiers were killed near the Israeli border when gunmen attacked a post and tried to enter Israel, just one of the latest incidents in a growing trend of violence.

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Survey: Syrian opposition want 'no-fly' zone
August 17th, 2012 - Members of the Syrian opposition support international armed intervention in their country, including establishing a "no-fly" zone, humanitarian corridors and training Free Syrian Army fighters, but they do not support an international presence on the ground, a survey showed.

The survey of the Syrian opposition was conducted by the International Republican Institute (IRI), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that supports democracy around the world. It is funded by the U.S. Congress, the State Department and private donations. A quarter of the respondents gave the umbrella opposition organization, the Syrian National Council (SNC), high ratings for legitimacy. But the survey also showed that the council is struggling to consolidate its appeal to a broad section of Syrians who support the opposition movement.

Asked which country treats the opposition best, the respondents cited France, Qatar and Turkey, followed by Britain, Libya, Germany, the United States, and Saudi Arabia. China, Russia and Iran were chosen as countries that treat the opposition the worst. If an international alliance does intervene militarily in Syria, the respondents said it should be led by Turkey. The respondents said they were 81% Sunni Arabs and 85% male, and educated. Two thirds said they had a university certificate or certificate of post graduate education.

IRI carried out the survey from June 1 to July 2 with the international survey research firm Pechter Polls of Princeton, N.J. Because of security issues, IRI said the survey was conducted electronically and was not a random sample. Instead, it used "snowball" methodology, which the group described as "relying strictly on dissidents who were known to IRI." Key individuals were used to initiate the referral chain, IRI said, "ultimately reaching a sample of 1,168 opposition members, approximately 315 of whom were inside Syria."

Asked to rate priorities for the opposition in a post-Assad Syria the respondents put establishing a strong judicial system and giving fair trials to suspected war criminals at the top of the list. But they also supported punishing war criminals without judicial process. If Syrian President Bashar al-Assad eventually leaves office, 82% of Syrian respondents living outside the country said they would return at least temporarily. The survey can be found at: Survey of Syrian Opposition Reveals Desire for International Intervention | International Republican Institute (IRI)

Source

 

[Charles_Main]

I see no Reason why the US should help set up a No Fly Zone, or aid in Any Way the Rebels in Syria. Why should we assist in the Creation of what promises to be another Muslim Brother Hood Dominated Country that is not Friendly Towards the US, west and Israel?

If we could not end up with a Country that is Free, and Not Hostile to the West after 10 years of Nation Building in Iraq, why the hell do we think we can do it by helping one side over throw the Other, when Both sides are Hostile to us, and Frankly not interested in Democracy in Syria? or Egypt, Or Lybia. both sides want different forms of Oppression, I don't see how you help people when you help them over throw a Secular Dictator, for a Handful of Radical Islamic Cleric Dictators.

 

[mal]

I see no Reason why the US should help set up a No Fly Zone, or aid in Any Way the Rebels in Syria. Why should we assist in the Creation of what promises to be another Muslim Brother Hood Dominated Country that is not Friendly Towards the US, west and Israel?

If we could not end up with a Country that is Free, and Not Hostile to the West after 10 years of Nation Building in Iraq, why the hell do we think we can do it by helping one side over throw the Other, when Both sides are Hostile to us, and Frankly not interested in Democracy in Syria? or Egypt, Or Lybia. both sides want different forms of Oppression, I don't see how you help people when you help them over throw a Secular Dictator, for a Handful of Radical Islamic Cleric Dictators.

Because Obama needs a Distraction from the Economy he didn't "fix" and the Wars he hasn't really "Ended" yet...

Another War is the Perfect Answer!



peace...

 

[American_Jihad]

Stopping the ISIS Chemical Weapons Program
Saddam's chemical weapons scientists find a new home.
March 10, 2016
Joseph Klein

...

ISIS is putting its considerable resources into developing chemical weapons. And they are leveraging the expertise of former Saddam Hussein regime scientists who have joined the ISIS jihadists.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has reportedly confirmed that ISIS fighters have already used chemical weapons in Iraq and Syria, perhaps obtained from stockpiles they took control over in those countries. “It raises the major question of where the sulphur mustard came from,” an OPCW source was quoted by Reuters as saying. “Either they (IS) gained the ability to make it themselves, or it may have come from an undeclared stockpile overtaken by IS. Both are worrying options.”

In an important counter-strike to thwart ISIS’s ability to develop chemical weapons, U.S. Special Operation Forces have reportedly captured a top man in ISIS's chemical weapons development program. The capture took place last month in northern Iraq, according to two senior Iraqi intelligence officials cited by the Associated Press. U.S. officials have refused to identify the ISIS leader, but the Iraqi officials claimed he was formerly involved in Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons program. Based on information learned from interrogation, unnamed U.S. officials told CNN, the U.S. was able to conduct strikes against ISIS chemical weapons facilities in Iraq.

According to the CNN report, a “U.S. official said the goal is to locate, target and carry out strikes that will result in the destruction of ISIS's entire chemical weapons enterprise -- mainly mustard agent ISIS produces itself.”

Defense Secretary Ash Carter was true to his word in his testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee last December, when he said, “This is a no-kidding force that will be doing important things.” But Carter and the military can only go so far as their commander-in-chief lets them. They can only continue doing “important things” if they are not held back by restrictive rules of engagement that could leave ISIS chemical weapons facilities in place for fear of inflicting any civilian casualties in an attack.

President Obama's belated decision to more aggressively utilize covert Special Forces on the ground to kill high level ISIS personnel, or preferably capture them for interrogation, and to disrupt its critical operations is welcomed. However, the question remains whether he is still too wary of utilizing sufficient means of enhanced interrogation of the captured ISIS personnel involved in WMD programs to learn everything we can that they know. We can only hope that, given the existential stakes in stopping ISIS from deploying weapons of mass destruction, President Obama is now willing to abandon his opposition to using enhanced interrogation techniques on captured jihadists held in secret facilities outside the United States. Perhaps, last month’s capture and useful interrogation of a top man in ISIS's chemical weapons development program is a turning point. It remains to be seen.

Chemical weapons are not the only WMD threat that ISIS poses. The Associated Press reported last October that ISIS is actively seeking radioactive material in the black market, particularly in Eastern Europe. "In the age of the Islamic State, it's especially terrifying to have real smugglers of nuclear bomb material apparently making connections with real buyers," said Matthew Bunn, a Harvard professor whom the Associated Press described as having studied the security of Russia's nuclear arsenal for the Clinton administration.

ISIS does not presently have the capability to produce its own nuclear bombs, although it is not out of the realm of possibility. A German journalist Jurgen Todenhofer, who spent time with ISIS fighters in northern Iraq in 2014, wrote “ISIS intends to get its hands on nuclear weapons." He characterized ISIS as a "nuclear tsunami preparing the largest religious cleansing in history."

Even before ISIS can reach that goal, it can seize or purchase enough radioactive material to produce a dirty bomb. While technically a dirty bomb is a conventional weapon, its effects if exploded in the middle of a densely populated area can be devastating.

ISIS won’t stop their campaign of death and destruction unless they are destroyed first. Degradation or containment of ISIS are insufficient. As General George Patton famously declared, “There is only one tactical principle which is not subject to change. It is to use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wound, death, and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time.”

Stopping the ISIS Chemical Weapons Program