US Intelligence: Syria Moving Chemical Weapons For Possible Use Against Rebels…

Wehrwolfen

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May 22, 2012
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US Intelligence: Syria Moving Chemical Weapons For Possible Use Against Rebels…​




Assad seems crazy enough to use them.

Via JPost:


Western intelligence officials have noticed new worrying signs of activity at chemical weapons sites in Syria, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

The Syrian regime is “doing some things that suggest they intend to use the weapons,” one American intelligence official told the Times, adding, “It’s not just moving stuff around. These are different kind of activities.”

The officials were unsure of Syria’s intentions regarding the work at the chemical sites, but said it is possible Damascus is preparing to use chemical weapons as a last-ditched effort to defeat rebels, according to the report.

But the Syrians have yet to take the most crucial steps toward using their chemical weapons, or preparing them for firing in any way, the Times reported.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Israel would weigh military action if it suspects Syria’s chemical weapons could fall into the hands of a terrorist organization.

Keep reading…
'West worried by Syrian chemical site acti... JPost - Middle East
 
Assad gearin' up to use chemical weapons...
:mad:
Syria mixing chemical warfare agents, U.S. official
December 3rd, 2012 - Syrian forces began combining chemicals that would be used to make deadly sarin gas for use in weapons to attack rebel and civilian populations, a U.S. official tells CNN.
The United States obtained intelligence over the weekend indicating this development, according to the official who had direct knowledge of the latest information. The intelligence, the official said, came from multiple sources but declined to provide any more details about how the United states learned of it. Sarin gas, the source said, could most readily be used to fill artillery shells. Syrian State TV cited a Foreign Ministry official on Monday as saying the country would never use chemical weapons on its own people. CNN reported on Sunday that U.S. intelligence is concerned about the Syrian government's intent regarding its vast chemical weapons stockpiles after what one senior American official described as "worrying signs" of activity in "the last few days."

The revelation that the regime of Syria's Bashar al-Assad is mixing chemicals underscores the reason for the increased concern. "There are concerns the regime may be considering use of chemical weapons" the senior U.S. official told CNN on Sunday. The official who spoke to CNN on Monday declined to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the information. The blog Danger Room first reported the news on Monday, noting the activity is taking place in "central Syria." Earlier in the day, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned the United States was prepared to act if Syria used chemical arms, saying that step would cross a red line previously drawn by President Barack Obama. "I'm not going to telegraph in any specifics what we would do in the event of credible evidence that the Assad regime has resorted to using chemical weapons against their own people. But suffice it to say, we are certainly planning to take action if that eventuality were to occur," Clinton told reporters. "There is no doubt that there is a line between even the horrors that they have already inflicted on the Syrian people and moving to what would be an internationally condemned step of utilizing their chemical weapons."

Clinton met with the Czech foreign minister and discussed the concerns, she said after the meeting. Clinton said the Czech Republic has extensive expertise with chemical and biological weapons. "They have already been consulting about what can be and should be done, both at this time and post the inevitable fall of the Assad regime," Clinton said. Syria is known to store its chemical stockpile, in many instances, separately from the artillery shells, rockets or missiles that would deliver those chemical weapons in an attack. As rebel fighters continue to make some gains, capturing military assets and territory, U.S. and Middle Eastern intelligence services have been watching for some months for any signs the Syrians would be loading up those weapons with chemical agents.

In recent months, the Obama administration has acknowledged at least two instances of Syrian chemical weapons stockpiles being moved but has said it believes those were efforts to put the material in more secure locations as fighting increased. "We don't know if there is actual intent," the U.S. official said about the latest observed activities. "This is worrisome. This is a step beyond moving them around." Syria has had a chemical weapons program for many years with stockpiles of chemical agents, according to a 2012 report to Congress from the Director of National Intelligence. The chemical weapons "can be delivered by aerial bombs, ballistic missiles, and artillery rockets." The country still depends on "foreign sources for key elements" of its program, including precursor chemicals, the DNI report from February stated, but has the infrastructure to support developing biological weapons.

Source

See also:

Official: 'Worrying signs' regarding Syria's chemical weapons
December 2nd, 2012 - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned on Monday the United States was prepared to act if Syria used chemical arms as new concerns surfaced about those weapons, although Syria said it had no intention of using them on its own people.
Speaking after meetings in Prague, Clinton reiterated that such a move by the regime of Syria's Bashar al-Assad would cross a red line previously drawn by President Barack Obama. "I'm not going to telegraph in any specifics what we would do in the event of credible evidence that the Assad regime has resorted to using chemical weapons against their own people. But suffice it to say, we are certainly planning to take action if that eventuality were to occur," Clinton told reporters. "There is no doubt that there is a line between even the horrors that they have already inflicted on the Syrian people and moving to what would be an internationally condemned step of utilizing their chemical weapons."

Clinton met with the Czech foreign minister and discussed the concerns, she said after the meeting. Clinton said the Czech Republic has extensive expertise with chemical and biological weapons. "They have already been consulting about what can be and should be done, both at this time and post the inevitable fall of the Assad regime," Clinton said. U.S. intelligence is concerned about the Syrian government's intent regarding its vast chemical weapons stockpiles after what one senior U.S. official described as "worrying signs" of activity in "the last few days." "There are concerns the regime may be considering use of chemical weapons" the official told CNN on Sunday.

But the official stressed that the Obama administration has not come to a final conclusion about Syria's intent. "This isn't just about movement, but about potential intent to make certain chemical weapons ready for use." The official admitted it is not entirely clear to the United States what the Syrian government is up to, or if this latest development was ordered specifically by the Assad regime. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information discussed, declined to specify the exact intelligence that the United States has gathered in the past few days. The New York Times first reported the concern on Sunday. Syrian State TV cited a Foreign Ministry official on Monday as saying the country would never use chemical weapons on its own people. Syria is known to store its chemical stockpile, in many instances, separately from the artillery shells, rockets or missiles that would deliver those chemical weapons in an attack.

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Now where do you think he got them?

Syria | Country Profiles | NTI

Since the early 1980s, Syria has made efforts to acquire and maintain an arsenal of chemical weapons. Regional security concerns, and most notably Syria's adversarial relationship with Israel, represent the most likely present-day motivation behind Syria's chemical weapons program. Specifically, a series of disastrous military defeats to Israel in 1967, 1973, and 1982, followed by the weakening of Arab unity against Israel following the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty and Israel's presumed acquisition of nuclear weapons, provided impetus for Syria to pursue a strategic deterrent against the conventional and nuclear Israeli threats.

Numerous press and U.S. government sources indicate that Syria first obtained chemical weapons from Egypt on the eve of the attack on Israel in October 1973. [8] Reports that Israeli troops captured stockpiles of Syrian chemical weapons support the view that Syrian combat troops received these weapons during the Yom Kippur war. [9] Notably, although Syrian forces suffered severe defeat, at no point did they deploy chemical weapons. Although the lack of access to Syrian personnel or records renders all explanations for this restraint speculative, Syrian-born security analyst M. Zuhair Diab and Israeli military analysts both suggest that Syria may have planned to use its chemical arsenal only in the event of a total military collapse, which never occurred.
 
US Intelligence: Syria Moving Chemical Weapons For Possible Use Against Rebels…​




Assad seems crazy enough to use them.

Via JPost:


Western intelligence officials have noticed new worrying signs of activity at chemical weapons sites in Syria, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

The Syrian regime is “doing some things that suggest they intend to use the weapons,” one American intelligence official told the Times, adding, “It’s not just moving stuff around. These are different kind of activities.”

The officials were unsure of Syria’s intentions regarding the work at the chemical sites, but said it is possible Damascus is preparing to use chemical weapons as a last-ditched effort to defeat rebels, according to the report.

But the Syrians have yet to take the most crucial steps toward using their chemical weapons, or preparing them for firing in any way, the Times reported.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Israel would weigh military action if it suspects Syria’s chemical weapons could fall into the hands of a terrorist organization.

Keep reading…
'West worried by Syrian chemical site acti... JPost - Middle East

This is not our fight...
 
Hmm.., WMD? Could some of that stockpile of WMD be a gift from Saddam Hussein in 2003?
 
Hmm.., WMD? Could some of that stockpile of WMD be a gift from Saddam Hussein in 2003?
:lol:


Keep trying!

so you're going to argue that it's just a coincidence that they have WMDs to use when we were pointing out back in 2003 that Saddam had the time and opportunity to move the weapons to Syria?

Maybe you are right, but I wouldn't pretend that it couldn't have happened if I were you.

I think the more pressing question is what is Obama going to do if Assad does use them? Because we dont need another.
 
Hmm.., WMD? Could some of that stockpile of WMD be a gift from Saddam Hussein in 2003?
:lol:


Keep trying!

so you're going to argue that it's just a coincidence that they have WMDs to use when we were pointing out back in 2003 that Saddam had the time and opportunity to move the weapons to Syria?

Maybe you are right, but I wouldn't pretend that it couldn't have happened if I were you.

I think the more pressing question is what is Obama going to do if Assad does use them? Because we dont need another.

Just as you would not pretend that lightning bolts COULD fly out of your ass, right?

Obama should do NOTHING. This is not our fight.
 
Hmm.., WMD? Could some of that stockpile of WMD be a gift from Saddam Hussein in 2003?
:lol:


Keep trying!

so you're going to argue that it's just a coincidence that they have WMDs to use when we were pointing out back in 2003 that Saddam had the time and opportunity to move the weapons to Syria?

Maybe you are right, but I wouldn't pretend that it couldn't have happened if I were you.

I think the more pressing question is what is Obama going to do if Assad does use them? Because we dont need another.

Democrats have a need to pretend this never happened.

Many Of Syria's Chemical Weapons May Have Come From Saddam Hussein's Iraq - Investors.com

It's time to break out the popcorn and watch obama make a fool of himself again. He's threatening to intervene like someone is going to pay attention to the vomit that comes out of his mouth. If he does, Russia can be expected to protect their military base and their ally. As painful as such a war would be, watching obama step in shit might be worth it.
 
VaY... where I agree with you is that Obama should do nothing.. where I disagree with you (and others) is the silly assertion that some of whatever chem weapons they may have and use probably did not come in some way from Saddam.. the WoMD investigation was bumbled, thanks to a pussy UN and us not doing the job whole hog to begin with, and unfortunately we do not have a lot of concrete proof of anything... but it is not a poor speculation to think some of Syria's arsenal has an old Iraqi fingerprint on it
 
Rachel Maddow reported last night that the Syrian spokesman who swore up and down that Syria would never use chemical weapons in this conflict....defected yesterday.


(01/01/06 through 01/22/2007)
Wed Mar-22-06 05:59 PM
Original message

Did Saddam move his WMD's to Syria? You decide.

I put this on seattlemetal’s post but thought it needed one of it’s own to get the truth out.

Back before we had AAR I used to listen to the religious radio stations partly for amusement and partly to figure out what their politics were. At that time the suggestion was being pushed by the fundies that America should invade Syria next, not Iran. I though the thinking was peculiar and still do. However, a former Iraqi General under Saddam has written a book about it. He mentioned on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart that Saddam had moved his WMD’s to Syria. It was in his book. Now more than ever I think he’s lying.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591454042/104-0010291...]Saddam's Secrets: Georges Hormuz Sada: 9781591454045: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]

Read more:
Did Saddam move his WMD's to Syria? You decide. - Democratic Underground
 
Hmm.., WMD? Could some of that stockpile of WMD be a gift from Saddam Hussein in 2003?

do you know how to read?

or is that what the voices in your head are telling you?


Saddam's WMDs are in Syria​

Published: 06/29/2004
byMichael Evans

There is mounting evidence that at least some of Saddam Hussein’s missing weapons of mass destruction are in Syria, smuggled there by the Iraqi dictator for safekeeping before the beginning of the war. Part of the stockpile the coalition forces have so far failed to find in Iraq was probably destroyed; part is likely still hidden. But a massively lethal amount of Iraq’s chemical and biological weapons is stored alongside Syria’s own stockpiles of WMDs.

Perhaps more worrisome, there are indications these weapons are not under the control of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Rather, in a potentially catastrophic palace intrigue, his sister, Bushra, and her husband, Gen. Assaf Shawkat, the No. 2 in Syria’s military intelligence organization, the Mukhabarat, are said to have made the storage arrangements with Saddam as part of a bid for power.

On Jan. 5, 2004, Nizar Nayouf, a Syrian journalist who recently defected to France, said in a letter to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf that chemical and biological weapons were smuggled from Iraq into Syria before the war began, when Saddam realized he would be attacked by the U.S. Nayouf claimed to know three sites where Iraq’s WMDs are kept: in tunnels under the town of al-Baida in northern Syria, part of an underground factory built by North Korea for producing a Syrian version of the Scud missile; in the village of Tal Snan, adjacent to a Syrian Air Force base; and in Sjinsjar, on the border with Lebanon.

Speaking to the British television station ITN on Jan. 9, Nayouf quoted a Syrian military intelligence official as confirming the three sites.

Nayouf’s claims had in fact been substantiated by the U.S. intelligence community two months before. In a briefing to defense reporters on Oct. 30, 2003, officials of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency in Washington released an assessment that Iraqi weapons of mass destruction were transferred to Syria in the weeks before the war began.


The officials said the assessment was based on satellite images of convoys of Iraqi trucks that poured into Syria in February and March 2003. According to Middle East Newsline, quoted by WorldTribune.com, most of the intelligence community concluded that at least some of Iraq’s WMDs, along with Iraqi scientists and technicians, was smuggled to Syria.

Read more:
Saddam’s WMDs are in Syria


It appears it's not what my head is telling me. It's what has been printed well before this situation occurred. Perhaps if you didn't use your head for a hat rack and were better informed by reading, you might see things a little clearer.
 
So what else is new? The speculation that the WMD's were in fact a reality and transported out of the country was disputed vehemently by all those opposed to GWB, so are we now to assume US intervention into Syria is now acceptable because we have the Messiah in the White House and Clinton in state? Oh my how the world turns.
 
:lol:


Keep trying!

so you're going to argue that it's just a coincidence that they have WMDs to use when we were pointing out back in 2003 that Saddam had the time and opportunity to move the weapons to Syria?

Maybe you are right, but I wouldn't pretend that it couldn't have happened if I were you.

I think the more pressing question is what is Obama going to do if Assad does use them? Because we dont need another.

Just as you would not pretend that lightning bolts COULD fly out of your ass, right?

Obama should do NOTHING. This is not our fight.

I agree that Obama should do nothing. Which is why Im concerned when I hear the administration looking into what military options are on the table.
 
:lol:


Keep trying!

so you're going to argue that it's just a coincidence that they have WMDs to use when we were pointing out back in 2003 that Saddam had the time and opportunity to move the weapons to Syria?

Maybe you are right, but I wouldn't pretend that it couldn't have happened if I were you.

I think the more pressing question is what is Obama going to do if Assad does use them? Because we dont need another.

Democrats have a need to pretend this never happened.

Many Of Syria's Chemical Weapons May Have Come From Saddam Hussein's Iraq - Investors.com

It's time to break out the popcorn and watch obama make a fool of himself again. He's threatening to intervene like someone is going to pay attention to the vomit that comes out of his mouth. If he does, Russia can be expected to protect their military base and their ally. As painful as such a war would be, watching obama step in shit might be worth it.

I understand how you might enjoy watching Obama make a fool of himself. However, this could involve the possibilities of American soldiers being placed in the pathway of Chemical weapons. I don't particularly care for that possibility.
 
Where they came from isn't as supremely amusing as watching barack "the mouse that roared" obama making statements as if they really mean something. I would love to see him try, and get backhanded into the next century.
 

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