War Drums: Panetta: 'There is Al Qaeda Presence In Syria'...

[paulitician]

Boy, they really do want that War with Syria huh?


Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta confirmed on Friday that al Qaeda has a "presence in Syria."

At a briefing at the Pentagon with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Panetta was asked by a reporter, "Secretary Panetta, if I may, on al Qaeda in Syria, you've said that we don't have any indication of al Qaeda in that -- those double explosions that took place in Damascus. But what kind of assessment do you have on al Qaeda activity in Syria? Because the Syrian government confirms that al-Qaida is active in Syria. Do you have an indication to say that al Qaeda is actually active, how big it is, and is it a concern for you?"

Panetta responded by confirming the terrorist group's presence, but provided few details.

Al Qaeda anywhere is a concern for us," said Panetta. "And we do -- we do have intelligence that indicates that there is an al Qaeda presence in Syria. But frankly, we don't have very good intelligence as to just exactly what their activities are. And that's the reason we can't really indicate specifically what they are or are not doing. But they are a concern. And frankly, we need to continue to do everything we can to determine what kind of influence they are trying to exert there.

Panetta also reiterated that America's position is for Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad to go, but again provided few details on what, if anything, America is doing to hasten his demise.

Read More:
Panetta: 'There Is an Al Qaeda Presence in Syria' | The Weekly Standard
DRUDGE REPORT 2012®

 

[Trajan]

wait, obama just told us we had them on the run, their defeat, ; "within our reach".....? this should be just nits and lice...

 

[Katzndogz]

obama wants Al Quaeda in Syria! That's why he's supporting Al Quaeda rather than the Russian backed Assad.

The question arabs have today is whether or not obama is willing to directly confront Russia over making sure Al Quaeda takes over Syria like they took over Egypt and Libya.

 

[ERGO]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0ZCgGJig0c]'US backs Al-Qaeda to mutually destroy Syria' - YouTube[/ame]

 

[ERGO]

obama wants Al Quaeda in Syria! That's why he's supporting Al Quaeda rather than the Russian backed Assad.

The question arabs have today is whether or not obama is willing to directly confront Russia over making sure Al Quaeda takes over Syria like they took over Egypt and Libya.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feFwa8hrJtQ]Why is the US/NATO supporting and arming Al-Qaeda Terrorists in Libya and Syria? - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Mad Scientist]

Why are you guys worried about this? Gay Sex and Marriage is FAR more important!

 

[waltky]

Waiting for Russia to abandon its support for Assad...

U.S. in waiting game on Syria
May 16th, 2012 - Fifteen months into the crisis in Syria, and the Obama administration is, as one U.S. official describes it, in "a holding pattern," waiting for Russia to abandon its support for President Bashar al-Assad, waiting for sanctions to topple the economy and waiting for an organized Syrian opposition to present a coherent vision for a post-Assad Syria.

As the U.S. waits for what many believe is the inevitable failure of a United Nations-backed plan, American officials say they would rather U.N.-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan to pronounce his diplomatic efforts a failure himself.

Senior officials say the international monitors provided for in the current agreement with the Syrian government, however small in number, offer a small buffer against Assad's forces. Additionally, the U.S. and its allies on the U.N. Security Council want Russia to come to its own conclusion that Assad is not living up to his end of the agreement in ceasing the violence, and the plan is a failure. The concern is should the U.S. push for the next step, it would further alienate Moscow, which is skeptical about efforts to push out Syria's president. How the plan fails is as important as when it does, Western diplomats said this week. "You have the politics part of this plan, and you have what is really happening on the ground," one U.S. official said. "We are going to be in a bit of a holding pattern for a while, debating on whether this has succeeded or failed, and whether it was designed to fail."

But the U.S. is looking for ways it can further aid the opposition. U.S. officials and congressional sources say the Obama administration has realized that nonlethal communication, currently the bulk of U.S. support for the opposition, is not enough. In recent weeks, the U.S. has broadened its outreach to include Syria's rebel groups, including the Free Syrian Army. Sources say the administration is already increasing coordination with Gulf nations working to arm the opposition and is actively debating providing additional military support. "These guys need space, training and greater capabilities," one congressional source said. "What is that, where would it be done, who would it be for? Those are the questions the administration is trying to answer, and they need to be moving a lot faster."

So far, representatives of the rebel groups say the weapons are not coming in any significant numbers. "The problem is we want weapons but have received nothing so far," said Free Syrian Army Capt. Riad Ahmed, currently in Istanbbul. Sen. John McCain R-Arizona, one of the administration's harshest critics on Syria policy who recently returned from a trip to the Turkish border with Syria, has openly called for arming the opposition and supporting havens for opposition members. "What they need, first of all, is weapons to defend themselves," he told CNN's Anderson Cooper. "Then we need to talk with our allies about a sanctuary, a place where the government can organize, where we can train and equip these forces so that we can have a fair fight."

More U.S. in waiting game on Syria – CNN Security Clearance - CNN.com Blogs

See also:

Syria: the elephant in the room amid military exercise in Jordan
May 16th, 2012 - With a photo of a raging lion over their shoulders, senior U.S. and Jordanian generals opened a massive military exercise dubbed "Eager Lion."

The kickoff came with adamant statements that the 12,000 troops from 19 countries now in Jordan were here only for the training - and it all has nothing to do with the violence now raging across Jordan's northern border inside Syria. But it is hard to avoid. Even the exercise name has raised suspicions. In Arabic, the word for lion is asad. But the name has nothing to do with the Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, say Maj. Gen. Awni Ad Adwan, head of Jordanian military operations and training, and Maj. Gen. Kenneth Tovo, head of U.S. Central Command's special operations force.

Technically, everyone is correct. The name of the exercise was chosen two years ago, the timing of it set nearly three years ago. Officially, the exercise is about 19 nations training together and, as with all U.S. military training exercises, the threat the troops are practicing to fend off is unnamed. But there is the technical answer and then there is reality. Syria looms large here. Publicly, officials are adamant that Jordan's neighbor to the north is not the issue or the reason for the military gathering. It is a very sensitive topic and, after two days on the ground, an unavoidable topic with pretty much every Jordanian and U.S. official I've talked to.

Jordan's leaders are seriously concerned about what al-Assad might do, and what that means for Jordan's security. So merely having this exercise go forward, many here believe, sends a message to Assad that Jordan will be defended and helped - or so the Jordanians hope. U.S. and Jordanian special operations forces in particular are training for several days on key assault and commando operations, fine-tuning skills learned over the years in Iraq and Afghanistan. Marines conduct assault operations in southern Jordan, which is as far from Syria as they can be. But what is the threat from Syria?

MORE

 

[Katzndogz]

obama can turn blue waiting for Russia to abandon Assad.

If he turns blue, will he then be colored?

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Do a bear poop inna woods?...

Does al-Qaeda have a foothold in Syria?
24 May 2012 - Paul Wood reports from Syria on al-Qaeda's influence in the country

Amid growing concern among some Western officials about al-Qaeda's involvement in the Syrian uprising, the BBC's Paul Wood - who has been back inside Syria - assesses the influence of Islamists in Syria's anti-government protests. "People are fed up with journalists," says the Free Syrian Army's Lt Col Muleldine al-Zein. "We are not extremists, although you try to portray us as such." He adds bitterly: "The West still supports the regime as far as I am concerned. The US could take him out in a week, but they don't want democracy for us. I don't know why. They want the country to collapse."

Outside, in this small Syrian town, the daily pro-democracy protest is going on. "Men and women together," the colonel says, presenting the fact as another testament to the group's moderation. Speakers make the usual calls to remember the revolution's martyrs. There are the regular chants against President Bashar al-Assad: "The Assad family are thieves" is always popular. Despite the colonel's remarks, the United States does want the Assad regime to fall.

It is one of the small ironies of the Syrian uprising that the US and al-Qaeda are on the same side here. Both want the regime's overthrow. Still, the US and other Western governments worry about who might replace Mr Assad. The al-Nusra Front emerged earlier this year in customary fashion, with an internet video. The Front for the Defence of the Syrian People, to give them their full title, say they are jihadis who have returned from other wars to fight here. The video was illustrated with shots of tough-looking men training with weapons, somewhere in the desert. "We bring glad tidings to the Islamic nation," their spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Gulani, announced on the video. "We are Syrian mujahideen. We are back from the various jihad fronts to restore Allah's rule upon the Earth and avenge our people's violated honour and spilled blood."

We do not know if this video is genuine, but - another irony of Syria - this kind of thing serves the propaganda interests of both the global jihad movement and the Assad regime. Regardless, some outside observers believe the men of the Nusra Front do indeed represent the future in Syria. Alastair Crooke, a former British intelligence officer who studies Islamist militants, says: "The numbers were quite small in the beginning, but I think it has grown in this time." He goes on: "The point is that the hard element of the opposition, the armed, the combat-experienced part of the opposition that has come up from Libya or Iraq not only are at the vanguard, but are also pushing out all other forms of opposition. "The only opposition that we are seeing in Syria at the moment is not peaceful protest. It is characterised by extreme use of violence."

Not al-Qaeda

See also:

Syrian army 'responsible for rights abuses' - UN report
24 May 2012 - Despite the deployment of UN monitors in Syria, the conflict has become "increasingly militarised"

The Syrian army and security forces are responsible for most of the serious human rights abuses committed in the country since March this year, according to a UN-commissioned report. The report also mentions opposition tactics, with evidence captured soldiers have been tortured and killed. The UN investigators say the conflict is becoming increasingly militarised. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says at least 10,000 people have died in the uprising, which began in March 2011.

In its latest report, covering March, April and part of May, a commission on Syria appointed by the UN Human Rights Council documented cases of torture and summary execution committed by both the Syrian army and opposition forces. "Most of the serious human rights violations documented by the Commission in this update were committed by the Syrian army and security services as part of military or search operations conducted in locations known for hosting defectors and/or armed persons, or perceived as supportive of anti-government armed groups," their report said. "The army employed the wide range of military means, including heavy shelling of civilian areas," it added. "State security forces continued to use lethal force against anti-government demonstrations in Idlib, Homs, Aleppo, Hama, Damascus and Deraa and in numerous villages throughout the country."

Despite April's ceasefire, and the deployment of UN monitors in Syria, the investigators of the Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria say the conflict has become increasingly militarised. "Whereas government forces had previously been responding primarily to demonstrations, they now face armed and well-organised fighters - bolstered by defectors who joined them," the report says.

'Families executed'

The report says there is a pattern of serious violations, in which Syrian security forces blockade villages, and carry out house-to-house searches looking for opposition force. In some of these operations, the report says, entire families have been executed. The investigators also say torture in detention, including of children, continues. But the report has criticism of opposition tactics too - revealing evidence that captured Syrian soldiers have been tortured and killed.

More http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18188234

 

[High_Gravity]

Boy, they really do want that War with Syria huh?


Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta confirmed on Friday that al Qaeda has a "presence in Syria."

At a briefing at the Pentagon with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Panetta was asked by a reporter, "Secretary Panetta, if I may, on al Qaeda in Syria, you've said that we don't have any indication of al Qaeda in that -- those double explosions that took place in Damascus. But what kind of assessment do you have on al Qaeda activity in Syria? Because the Syrian government confirms that al-Qaida is active in Syria. Do you have an indication to say that al Qaeda is actually active, how big it is, and is it a concern for you?"

Panetta responded by confirming the terrorist group's presence, but provided few details.

Al Qaeda anywhere is a concern for us," said Panetta. "And we do -- we do have intelligence that indicates that there is an al Qaeda presence in Syria. But frankly, we don't have very good intelligence as to just exactly what their activities are. And that's the reason we can't really indicate specifically what they are or are not doing. But they are a concern. And frankly, we need to continue to do everything we can to determine what kind of influence they are trying to exert there.

Panetta also reiterated that America's position is for Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad to go, but again provided few details on what, if anything, America is doing to hasten his demise.

Read More:
Panetta: 'There Is an Al Qaeda Presence in Syria' | The Weekly Standard
DRUDGE REPORT 2012®

Look whats happening in Syria, they have IED's and suicide bombings now. It looks like the terrorists Syria let flow into their country to cross over into Iraq to fight our troops are now coming home to roost.

 

[Dr.Drock]

So wait, are we pro or anti Al Qaeda?

Do we judge that on region? We're anti-Al Qaeda in Pakistan but pro-Al Qaeda in Libya/Syria?

 

[High_Gravity]

So wait, are we pro or anti Al Qaeda?

Do we judge that on region? We're anti-Al Qaeda in Pakistan but pro-Al Qaeda in Libya/Syria?

Its an odd situation, Al Qaeda hates Assad and they want him gone and so do we.

 

[Dr.Drock]

So wait, are we pro or anti Al Qaeda?

Do we judge that on region? We're anti-Al Qaeda in Pakistan but pro-Al Qaeda in Libya/Syria?

Its an odd situation, Al Qaeda hates Assad and they want him gone and so do we.

Kinda like the Al-Qaeda hating Gaddafi scenario. They were the ones who killed him.

PressTV - 'NATO, al-Qaeda militia killed Gaddafi'

We must understand that the main foot soldiers of this war are part of an al-Qaeda affiliated militia, the Libya Islamic fighting group. They say that nothing proves that these are not terrorists, and al-Qaeda created these terrorists.

Those people committed the killing of Gaddafi, but they were under close surveillance of NATO forces. This was a NATO planned operation which was geared towards the assassination of political leader Muammar Gaddafi.

 

[JWBooth]

Hey Leon,

I hear that there are Al Qaeda cells in Tijuana, Nogales, Juarez, Cuidad Acuna, and Matamoros.

How about sending some troops there. Maybe they could play guard for the drug trade like they do in Afghanistan too.

just sayin