“Let
me just refresh you on the history. Saddam Hussein, allegedly moving
chemical weapons and other WMD was the trigger for the 2003 invasion
of Iraq. Any move on Syria is an essential precursor to an attack on
Iran. Israel has proved its Iron Dome missile shield in Gaza and
pretty much eliminated any chance of retaliation on its southern
front. That would leave Israel free to take on Hezbollah (an Iranian
proxy) in Lebanon and the Golan Heights. -- An attack on Iran is
axiomatically the start of a nuclear confrontation between the US,
Israel and Iran, Russia and
China. Think peace. Think love... Think sanity.”
- Mike Ruppert
Note
– this a Fox News spin.
Syria
moves chemical weapons, White House warns of crossing 'red line'
The
Syrian government began to move its chemical weapons in recent days,
senior U.S. officials confirmed to Fox News, prompting new warnings
from the Obama administration that using those weapons against the
population would cross a "red line."
3
December, 2012
One
senior U.S. official told Fox News "there are concerns about
possible preparations for use" of the weapons, though "we
don't know yet if they plan to use them."
The
official added, "There are troubling signs of late."
The
confirmation came as both Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney issued new warnings to Syria.
"As
the opposition makes strategic advances and grows in strength, the
Assad regime has been unable to halt the opposition's progress
through conventional means," Carney said Monday. "And we
are concerned that an increasingly beleaguered regime -- having found
its escalation of violence through conventional means inadequate --
might be considering the use of chemical weapons against the Syrian
people."
Carney
said using or proliferating those weapons "would cross a red
line for the United States."
"They
will be held accountable by the United States and the international
community if they use chemical weapons or fail to meet their
obligation to secure them."
Carney
would not say whether the movement of weapons by itself could cross
the so-called red line.
Clinton,
in Prague for meetings with Czech officials, also reiterated
President Obama's declaration that Syrian action on chemical weapons
was a "red line" for the United States that would prompt
action.
"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," she said.
Syria
said Monday it would not use chemical weapons against its own people.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Syria "would not use
chemical weapons -- if there are any -- against its own people under
any circumstances."
Syria
has been careful never to confirm that it has any chemical weapons.
The
use of chemical weapons would be a major escalation in President
Bashar Assad's crackdown on his foes and would draw international
condemnation. In addition to causing mass deaths and horrific
injuries to survivors, the regime's willingness to use them would
alarm much of the region, particularly neighboring states, including
Israel.
Although
Syria is one of only seven nations that have not signed the Chemical
Weapons Treaty, it is a party to the 1925 Geneva Protocol that bans
the use of chemical weapons in war. That treaty was signed in the
aftermath of World War I, when the effects of the use of mustard gas
and other chemical agents outraged much of the world.
Clinton
didn't address the issue of the fresh activity at Syrian chemical
weapons depots, but insisted that Washington would address any threat
that arises.
An
administration official told the Associated Press that the trigger
for U.S. action of some kind is the use of chemical weapons or
movement with the intent to use or provide them to a terrorist group
like Hezbollah. The U.S. is trying to determine whether the recent
movement detected in Syria falls into any of those categories, the
official said.
Syria
is believed to have several hundred ballistic surface-to-surface
missiles capable of carrying chemical warheads.
Its
arsenal is a particular threat to the American allies, Turkey and
Israel, and Obama singled out the threat posed by the unconventional
weapons earlier this year as a potential cause for deeper U.S.
involvement in Syria's civil war. Up to now, the United States has
opposed military intervention or providing arms support to Syria's
rebels for fear of further militarizing a conflict that activists say
has killed more than 40,000 people since March 2011.
Israeli
officials have repeatedly expressed concerns that Syrian chemical
weapons could slip into the hands of Hezbollah or other anti-Israel
groups, or even be fired toward Israel in an act of desperation by
Syria. Israel has indicated it would act in the face of such threats.
Clinton
said that while the actions of Assad's government have been
deplorable, chemical weapons would bring them to a new level.
"We
once again issue a very strong warning to the Assad regime that their
behavior is reprehensible, their actions against their own people
have been tragic," she said. "But there is no doubt that
there's a line between even the horrors that they've already
inflicted on the Syrian people and moving to what would be an
internationally condemned step of utilizing their chemical weapons."
Activity
has been detected before at Syrian weapons sites, believed to number
several dozen.
Defense
Secretary Leon Panetta said in late September the intelligence
suggested the Syrian government had moved some of its chemical
weapons in order to protect them. He said the U.S. believed that the
main sites remained secure.
Asked
Monday if they were still considered secure, Pentagon press secretary
George Little declined to comment about any intelligence related to
the weapons.
Syria
is believed to have one of the world's largest chemical weapons
programs, and the Assad regime has said it might use the weapons
against external threats, though not against Syrians. The U.S. and
Jordan share the same concern about Syria's chemical and biological
weapons -- that they could fall into the wrong hands should the
regime in Syria collapse and lose control of them.
Reuters
is a bit more circumspect
U.S.
concerned about Syria's intentions on weapons: White House
3
December, 2012
(Reuters)
- The United States' concerns about Syria's intentions regarding use
of chemical weapons is increasing, prompting Washington to prepare
contingency plans, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Monday.
Carney's
comments came after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that
the United States would take action if Syria used the weapons.
Carney
declined to say what the contingency plans involved.
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