U.S. Sets Stage for Bigger Syria Role -- Wall Street Journal

[bsteadman]

U.S. Sets Stage for Bigger Syria Role

Wall Street Journal
By Adam Entous in Washington and Sam Dagher in Damascus
Updated: 8/25/2013

Excerpt:

The Obama administration hardened its stance against Syria's regime and stepped up preparations for possible military action, saying it believed Damascus used chemical weapons in an offensive last week and rebuffing its offer to let United Nations officials inspect the affected areas.

The White House, in statements issued by senior officials, signaled it wasn't backing away from a showdown with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad despite apparent efforts by Damascus to ease tensions by letting U.N. inspectors visit areas near Damascus that were allegedly hit with chemical weapons.

In recent days, the Pentagon has moved more warships into place in the eastern Mediterranean should President Barack Obama give the order to attack, officials said. The Pentagon has prepared military options for the White House that include cruise missile strikes on regime targets, officials said.

"If the Syrian government had nothing to hide and wanted to prove to the world that it had not used chemical weapons in this incident, it would have ceased its attacks on the area and granted immediate access to the U.N. five days ago," the U.S. official said. "At this juncture, the belated decision by the regime to grant access to the U.N. team is too late to be credible, including because the evidence available has been significantly corrupted as a result of the regime's persistent shelling and other intentional actions over the last five days."

The official said that—based on the reported number of victims, the reported symptoms of those who were killed or injured and other information—"there is very little doubt at this point that a chemical weapon was used by the Syrian regime against civilians in this incident."

The official said Mr. Obama is still assessing how to respond to "this indiscriminate use of chemical weapons." U.S. intelligence agencies are still probing last week's incident, and could present a final assessment to Mr. Obama within days.

WSJ's Adam Entous and Carol E. Lee lay out the options facing President Obama in Syria, as he gets even more pressure to step up U.S. involvement and oust President Assad after the regime's alleged mass use of chemical weapons. Photo: AP

Earlier, the U.N. said its inspection team was preparing to start its fact-finding mission on Monday after Syria said it would allow U.N. inspectors now in Damascus immediate access to areas around the capital where the opposition accused the regime of using chemical weapons against fighters and civilians last week.

Syrian state television reported a deal was reached following a meeting between Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem and Angela Kane, the U.N. disarmament chief, who arrived in Damascus on Saturday. It said the timing of the visit would be coordinated between the U.N. team led by Swedish scientist Ake Sellstrom and the Syrian government.

"The foreign minister affirmed Syria's desire to cooperate with the team of inspectors to unmask the falsehood of the allegations by terrorist groups that Syrian forces used chemical weapons in the eastern Ghouta," it added, referring to the eastern suburbs of Damascus and using the government's term for the rebels battling the regime.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...LEFTTopStories

[bsteadman]

Syrian Girl Reports on The Orchestrated Syrian Conflict

Infowars.com
8/24/2013

Syrian Girl gives an update on the escalating crisis in Syria with new allegations of chemical attacks.

View the complete post, including videos, at:

http://www.infowars.com/syrian-girl-...rian-conflict/

[bsteadman]

Free Republic is running a thread titled, 'US moves forces toward Syria', which was started 8/24/2013 by 'Deathtomarxists'

The thread references a 8/24/2013 AP article written by Bradley Klapper - http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...08-24-07-37-32

View the complete Free Republic thread at:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3058478/posts

Excerpt:

the Obama administration prepared for a possible military response by moving naval forces closer to Syria.

Obama discussed the situation in Syria by telephone with British Prime Minister David Cameron, the White House said. It was Obama's first known conversation with a foreign leader about Syria since the reports this week that hundreds of Syrians had been killed by the alleged chemical attack in a suburb of Damascus, the capital.

[bsteadman]

AP Interview: Official says Syria to defend itself

Associated Press
Lee Keath
8/26/2013

Excerpt:

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A senior Syrian official said Monday that his country will defend itself against any international attack and will not be an easy target as the U.S. and other countries heat up rhetoric in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack last week on a rebel-held neighborhood of the Syrian capital.

In an interview with The Associated Press in Damascus, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad said airstrikes or other action against Syria would also trigger "chaos" and threaten worldwide peace and security.
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View the complete article at:

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ap-in...-defend-itself

[bsteadman]

Intelligence insider: Syria, World War III & the hidden objective

Canada Free Press
Doug Haggmann
8/26/2013

Excerpt:

“Pay attention! You are seeing the opening acts to a global war, to World War III. Refer to the information I gave you right after the attacks in Benghazi, specifically to the information contained in ‘Lemmings…at the precipice of WW III’ and you will see that everything I divulged to you was precisely correct.

World War III will begin in Syria, and no one on the planet (and Americans in particular) will be left untouched by what is about to take place. This has been planned for some time, and we are now seeing it happen right in front of us.” Those are the words of a trusted source with deep ties to the intelligence community, before providing more insight into what we might expect as this ‘crisis’ escalates and “Syria explodes.”

As I wrote in that article published on October 8, 2012, “All that is needed now is for a dutiful media to present one image, a video, or some other proof that Assad or someone else is using, or has their hands on, unconventional weapons. This will provide the necessary pretext for the U.S. and NATO, to intervene and ramp up the war against Assad. The UN will assist, and the red line will then have been crossed.” That will be the trigger event for U.S. involvement, and the escalation into a global conflict.

We are now at that critical moment, as the images of the use of chemical weapons are all over the news, and all fingers are pointing to Assad as the culprit. Just as predicted, The Guardian among other media outlets reported that “David Cameron and Barack Obama moved the West closer to military intervention in Syria on Saturday as they agreed that last week’s alleged chemical weapon attacks by the Assad regime had taken the crisis into a new phase that merited a ‘serious response.’” But it’s a lie, a magic show, to keep people’s attention away from something much bigger on the horizon.

Syria through the lens of the Arab Spring & Benghazi

“The entire scenario we are seeing is one big magic act that began long ago, and Syria is just the ‘flash-bang’ diversion of the act, albeit a vital one. To understand how we got here is critically important, as it identifies the larger agenda or the big picture too few are seeing and too many are attempting to hide.

Consider the blatant continuity of agenda that has spanned several American presidential administrations, both Republican and Democrat, Progressive and Conservative. This transcends political parties and the ‘political theater’ that has been designed to keep Americans occupied. Both political parties, however, are unified under a much larger globalist agenda, which explains why the policies of the Bush ‘dynasty’ have been exponentially increased under the Obama ‘regime.’

“Think about it. The anti-Assad ‘rebels’ are losing, they’re in retreat, because the exposure to the arms and weapons running from Benghazi caused the architects of this conflict to lay low for awhile. That gave us some time, but it did not change their objective of overthrowing Assad and taking Syria for the Muslim Brotherhood. The anti-Assad rebels cannot survive without Western assistance. Considering that, what sense would it make for Assad to use chemical weapons, especially as international observers were getting in position to investigate the situation, against rebels in retreat? It makes no sense, unless you understand the larger objective and the ‘big picture.’”

“Okay, so explain the big picture,” I asked my source. “And please do it in a way that I can explain it to my neighbor, or my family, so they too can understand what we’re seeing.” What follows is an uninterrupted monologue from my intelligence insider.

The big picture explained

“Here’s the global picture. When you see it, it will make sense. This is about reshaping the entire power structure of not just the Middle East, but of the world.”

“Remember that the 2001 attacks against the U.S. was the catalyst for our military operations in Afghanistan, and then ostensibly Iraq under George W. Bush, a so-called ‘conservative republican.’ We could have gone into Afghanistan, cleaned up what we needed to, and come home. Instead, while still in Afghanistan, we went into Iraq after convincing the world they had weapons of mass destruction. Remember that George H. W. Bush, also a ‘conservative republican,’ engaged Iraq in ‘Gulf War I’ in 1990. Essentially, we’ve been in Iraq for the last quarter of a century! Why? Think about that.”

“And, we’ve been in Afghanistan for the last dozen years or so. Why? Oil and opium. It’s an ‘international bankers war.’ [Note that a recent report from ‘The Guerrilla Economist lays this out here, excerpted as follows]: “...[L]arge US military bases are on the very path of the purposed [Caspian Sea oil] pipeline. This as well as that some of the proceeds from the lucrative opium trade will find its way back to US banks which will launder the money in order to help fund Unocal in the purposed pipe building project. Win Win.”

“Oh, and by the way, if you mention Iran’s nuclear ambitions, why did we wait so long to really address this and keep Israel from doing so before any action would require a very protracted military campaign? Keep that in the back of your mind.”

“Now here’s another important part of the magic act. After eight years of George Bush, Americans were weary of war. So, a little known man named Barack Hussein Obama was selected to run against John McCain in 2008. Why Obama and not Hillary? Because the real power players needed a man with Muslim Brotherhood connections to accomplish what was needed in the Middle East. Think back to his Cairo speech. Consider that all of his campaign promises to end the wars were not only broken, but the wars and unrest were expanded by his policies, or the policies of those who put him into power.”

“So we’ve stayed in Afghanistan and in Iraq.” Then comes the Arab Spring, which was planned years in advance. It was not some serendipitously spontaneous movement by oppressed people longing for democracy, but a Saudi and Muslim Brotherhood plan to regain control of what was once the Ottoman Empire, this time on steroids. People must think bigger, outside of the confines of the Middle East.”

“As much as I don’t like the thought of saying this, Putin was correct in asking what sense it makes to destabilize the entire Middle East, especially Syria, a client state of Russia. In the context of regional affairs, it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Now, we are going to send cruise missiles into Syria… to hit what? Chemical weapons stockpiles stored in densely populated areas? How is this going to help the Syrians? The refugees fleeing from Syria?”

“I’ve told you, and you have written that we are implementing the Saudi agenda across the Middle East. But who is behind the Saudis? It is the international banking cartel, those ‘too big to jail,’ who are behind the Saudis. It’s their war and they’re funding all sides of the conflict. No matter what, they win. But what do they win?”

“Admittedly it’s difficult if not nearly impossible to tell all the players without a scorecard, and even then, the players will change their uniforms to keep everyone confused. But here’s the important part. Syria is a proxy state for Russia, as is Iran. China has interests in Iran as well. If you look at all of the major powers, they all have interests in the Middle East. So who will we, the U.S. ultimately be fighting when Syria explodes? Russia. And what will be the blowback? That’s important to understand, for it is also the objective.”

Blowback

“None of what you are seeing is about fighting terrorism, or about helping the people of Syria. It’s about oil, energy and the global economic system. Conflict exists for the globalists to achieve their objective, and their objective is the implementation of a new economic system that will be a basket of currencies, or SDR (Special Drawing Rights). If you don’t know about SDRs, just equate it to the euro, but on a global scale.”

They will usher this in by striking at the United States much like the U.S. took down the old Soviet Union. They will target our economy through oil, cheap oil, from Saudi Arabia. Remember, Russia is the world’s largest exporter of oil, neck and neck with the Saudis. But, the Saudis oil wells have been damaged and their ‘lift costs’ are increasing.”
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View the complete article at:

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/57454

[bsteadman]

MSNBC Guest: Unlikely Syrian Gov’t Even Used Chemical Weapons

Mediaite
Noah Rothman
8/26/2013

Excerpt:

On Monday, a guest on MSNBC’s Now cautioned the United States against intervention in the Syrian civil war where chemical weapons have been allegedly used against civilians. He said that, while it is likely that chemical weapon were used, there is no proof that the war can be stopped or that chemical weapons were used by President Bashar al-Assad at all.

The Council on Foreign Relations’ Ed Husain warned that Americans are now contemplating an intervention which would not halt the civil war because none are advocating for boots on the ground to physically separate the two warring sides. - (bold and color emphasis added to highlight possible opinion of the 'establishment' regarding any unwarranted and dangerous Obama escalation of U.S.A. military activities in Syria)

Further, Husain notes, there is no reason why Assad would logically calculate that he benefits from using chemical weapons. That is why, in his opinion, the statements of the Syrian government denying that they used chemical weapons are credible.

“Why would Assad want to use chemical weapons in the northeastern suburb of Damascus, under his control, to kill only — forgive me for being so cold — about 1,000 people where as he’s killed 5,000 people every month for the last 16 months without using chemical weapons,” Husain said.
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View the complete article, including video, at:

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/msnbc-gue...mical-weapons/

[bsteadman]

The west is playing in to Moscow’s hands on Syria

Financial Times
Georgy Mirsky
8/29/2013

Excerpt:

Even if the Assad regime crumbles, Russia will not deem Putin a loser, writes Georgy Mirsky

Every now and then one of my English-speaking colleagues asks me what Russia will do if the western powers make good on their threats and strike at Syria. My answer is: nothing. Russia does not have to do anything, it can just sit quiet. The situation is advantageous to Moscow. Our leaders will be only too happy to see the US start a new war it cannot win.

Consider the options. A land invasion is out of the question. Sustained air bombardment risks the loss of pilots, and would therefore be unacceptable for the public in the west. The likeliest avenue is missile strikes; President Bashar al-Assad’s regime will undoubtedly suffer – but Russia and Iran will be able to make up for any losses. The allies will give Mr Assad a bloody nose and that is it. Punitive strikes cannot bring about a turning point in the hostilities. Any substantial change in the correlation of forces on the ground is not feasible.

So, morally and psychologically, the Assad regime will score points, at least in the eyes of the developing world – and certainly in those of Russia. Propaganda is certain to draw parallels with the intervention in Iraq 10 years ago. It is, of course, very easy to picture the US as a global bully ever bent on inventing pretexts for aggression. Iran will be jubilant. Many people in Syria will be inclined to resist a new imperialist crusade.
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View the complete article at:

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/97797...#axzz2dSa4cjh0

[bsteadman]

Obama’s war-game on Syria a publicity stunt?

Canada Free Press
Judi McLeod
8/30/2013

Excerpt:

If there’s anything Barack Obama loves as much as himself it’s publicity.

Obama wants his name on the lips of all citizens of the world’s nations, his image flashing on every big screen television; his identity mixed with that of Jesus Christ; to channeling whatever American president suits his convenience at the time; his picture ad infinitum.

Like the thrill that comes from spending other people’s money, he just can’t get enough of it.

While some shudder in disgust at the got-rich-on-publicity Kardashians, Obama and his Mrs. get off on publicity overkill. In reality, they’re Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga on steroids.

What better way for Obama to force publicity on himself than to threaten an attack on powder-keg Syria?

The whole world is not just talking about what might happen in Syria this Labor Day weekend or shortly thereafter, but is aquiver about the results that would follow a solo Obama attack.

Is even Bashar Assad taking seriously a hinted solo hit from Obama that first warns him it will be over in just a couple of days; “will come from offshore warships, perhaps a bomber or two, they’ll use cruise missiles. The purpose is for punishment not regime change.”

“Perhaps we should be publishing the exact times the bombs will fall, lest we disrupt dinner in Damascus,” writes Charles Krauthammer. (Washington Post, Aug. 29, 2013).

Even Assad’s 11-year-old son, or someone writing in is name, is not afraid of Big Bad Wolf Obama and taunts him openly on today’s Facebook.

Bullying Barry is becoming a national past time.

In spite of the long launch of horrors Obama is inflicting on his own country, not the least of them being ObamaCare, Amnesty, a racial unrest trying to equal the real one of the ‘60s, many Americans, and folk in other countries, tune out the moment they see Obama’s face or hear his voice.

Down at heart they know there is no Hope and Change coming from the Obama administration. They know that the free cellular phones and food stamps won’t last forever; that the money for road-worthy cars, new kitchens and furniture is running out and that the big well known as America is beginning to run on gulch-dry.

You can only hold an audience captive for so long on late night TV. It’s getting more difficult to find comedy in a country where jobs are disappearing as fast as access to coal and cheap gas.

Even his latest party where he tried to steal the inspiration of Martin Luther King was a big flop.

No one knows how Obama will get out of the corner in which he has painted himself regarding Syria. What we do know is that Labor Day Monday should be safe for Syria as he will be spending it with big union gun Richard Trumka of the AFL-CIO.

Time will soon tell that Obama’s big Syria bluff was all fluff; a publicity stunt more compelling than most others.

How does it get away with it?
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View the complete article at:

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/57580

[bsteadman]

Obama to Seek Congressional Backing for Syria Strike

President Says He Is Prepared to Order Military Action, but Wants Support First From Lawmakers

Wall Street Journal Online
Jared Favole
8/31/2013

Excerpt:

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama said Saturday he is prepared to take military action if necessary against Syria for the alleged use of chemical weapons against its own people, but said he will seek authorization from Congress before moving forward.

President Obama says that while he has decided that it is necessary for the U.S. to undertake a military strike on Syria, he will seek the support of Congress before doing so.

"This menace must be confronted," Mr. Obama vowed in an address from the White House Rose Garden, arguing for using force to punish the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Not acting, he said, "risks making a mockery of the global prohibition on the use of chemical weapons."

"I'm ready to act in the face of this outrage. Today I am asking Congress to send a message to the world that we are ready to move forward together as one nation," Mr. Obama said.

The president has faced criticism on the political left and right, with some lawmakers arguing against a military response and others demanding more information about any U.S. mission in advance of a presidential order. House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio), in particular, had pushed Mr. Obama to consult with Congress about his plans for military action.

Mr. Obama said he's talked with leaders in Congress and they've agreed to schedule a debate on using force as soon as they return from their August recess on Sept. 9, though lawmakers could be called back earlier.

The president said the effectiveness of any U.S. military strike, which he vowed would be limited, is "not time sensitive."

"It could be effective tomorrow, or next week or one month from now," Mr. Obama said. He said he is aware that the United Nations and some countries may not agree with his decision. He said he's prepared to go forward without their approval.

Not acting, he said, could lead to an escalation of chemical-weapons use and embolden countries that are seeking to build nuclear weapons.

Mr. Obama's comments follow a week of high tensions about whether the U.S. would strike Syria. And it comes after the administration made a public argument for a forceful American response and took the unusual step of making public evidence from the intelligence community that it had "high confidence" the Assad regime deployed chemical weapons against civilians on Aug. 21.

U.N. experts investigating the alleged attack that U.S. officials say killed over 1,400 people—including more than 400 children—left Syria earlier on Saturday after collecting blood and urine samples from victims, as well as soil samples, for testing. The results of their findings aren't expected for at least two weeks.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...682624072.html