--Mike
Ruppert
Syria
crisis: Nato 'to approve Turkey missiles request'
Nato
is set to approve the deployment of Patriot missile interceptors to
defend Turkey's border with Syria.
BBC,
4
December, 2012
A
meeting of the 28-member alliance's foreign ministers in Brussels
follows a request from Turkey to boost its defences along the border.
Nato
officials have made clear such a move would be purely defensive.
Earlier,
US President Barack Obama warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad he
would face "consequences" if he uses chemical weapons
against his people.
"The
world is watching. The use of chemical weapons is and would be
totally unacceptable," said Mr Obama in a speech at the National
Defense University in Washington.
"If
you make the tragic mistake of using these weapons there will be
consequences and you will be held accountable."
A
Syrian official has insisted it would "never, under any
circumstances" use such weapons, "if such weapons exist".
Rebel
gains
A
Nato team has already visited a number of sites in Turkey in
preparation for the deployment of Patriot batteries, which could be
used to shoot down any Syrian missiles or warplanes that stray over
the border, says BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale.
The
missile deployment is likely to be approved, adds our correspondent,
despite opposition from Russia, whose foreign minister is also
attending Tuesday's meeting in Brussels.
But
analysts say any deployment - possibly supplied by the US, Germany or
the Netherlands - could take weeks.
Syrian
opposition fighters have reportedly made dramatic gains recently, and
several government mortar shells - aimed at rebel targets close to
the border - have landed across its 900-km (560-mile) border with
Turkey.
Ankara's
request for Nato to deploy the anti-missile batteries came after
intelligence assessments that Damascus was contemplating using
ballistic missiles, potentially armed with chemical warheads, reports
say.
Syria
is believed to hold chemical weapons - including mustard gas and
sarin, a highly toxic nerve agent - at dozens of sites around the
country.
The
CIA has said those weapons "can be delivered by aircraft,
ballistic missile, and artillery rockets".
One
unnamed US official told the New York Times on Monday of "potential
chemical weapon preparation". The White House says the level of
concern was such that Washington is preparing contingency plans.
Russian
President Vladimir Putin has warned against the missile deployment,
fearing it would "exacerbate" rather than "defuse"
tensions along the border.
Moscow
has remained a key ally of Syria during the 22-month conflict, in
which activists say more than 40,000 people have died. Ankara now
backs the rebels trying to oust Mr Assad.
After
talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on
Monday, Mr Putin said the two countries had reached no breakthrough
on how to "regulate the situation" in Syria.
Barack
Obama said using chemical weapons would be a "tragic mistake"
But
he emphasised that Moscow's backing for Damascus was not the same
thing as supporting Mr Assad's regime.
"We
are not protecting the Syrian government, we are not its advocate,"
he said.
On
Monday the United Nations said it was pulling "all non-essential
international staff" out of Syria, with as many as 25 out of 100
international staff expected to leave this week.
Although
the head of the Arab League Nabil al-Arabi told AFP on Monday that
the Syrian government could fall "any time", it still holds
the capital, parts of the second city Aleppo, and other centres.
Syrian
Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi is said to have fled the
country, amid reports he has been dismissed, ostensibly for making
statements out of line with government policy.
UN
to withdraw non-essential staff from Syria
Missions
to conflict zone cancelled and remaining employees on standby to
move, in final step before full-scale evacuation
3
December 2012 23.02 GMT
The
United Nations is preparing to evacuate all non-essential staff from
Syria, citing the "prevailing security situation" amid
growing fears in Washington that the beleaguered regime is
considering using chemical weapons.
The
European Union also announced it was cutting back its activities in
the country and on a fast-moving day of diplomatic and military
action the Syrian government's foreign ministry spokesman, Jihad
Makdissi, was reported to have defected.
The
UN's undersecretary for safety and security, Gregory Starr, announced
that the organisation had also cancelled all missions to Syria from
abroad and suspended its activities inside the war-ravaged country.
The decision marks the final step before a full-scale evacuation, a
move that has not been ordered at any point during Syria's steady
descent into chaos over the past 20 months.
Up
to 25 of about 100 foreign staff may leave this week, it said, adding
that more armoured vehicles were needed after attacks in recent weeks
on humanitarian aid convoys and the hijacking of goods or vehicles.
Some convoys were caught in crossfire between government and rebel
forces, including an incident near the airport in which two staff
were injured, it said.
The
UN deploys more than 1,000 national and international staff in Syria,
but movement and communications have become more difficult due to
intensified fighting near the capital and a 48-hour internet blackout
last week, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA) said.
While
there has been intense fighting on the ground, particularly in
Damascus, in the past few days, there is also growing international
concern that the Syrian regime is contemplating using chemical
weapons. Syria on Monday denied it planned to use its chemical
weapons stockpile, after reports that the US had observed officials
moving some components of the programme. "Syria has stressed
repeatedly that it will not use these types of weapons, if they were
available, under any circumstances against its people," the
foreign ministry said.
The
US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, who had warned that
Washington would take action if Syria used chemical weapons, said: "I
am not going to telegraph any specifics what we do in the event of
credible evidence that the Assad regime has resorted to using
chemical weapons against their own people, but suffice to say we are
certainly planning to take action if that eventuality were to occur."
Late
on Monday, White House spokesman Jay Carney echoed Clinton's words.
"We are concerned that in 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," he said. "And as the president has
said, any use or proliferation of chemical weapons by the Syrian
regime would cross a red line for the United States."
Turkish
officials told the Guardian they have credible evidence that if the
Syrian government's aerial bombardment against opposition-held areas
fails to hold the rebels back, Bashar al-Assad's regime may resort to
missiles and chemical weapons in a desperate bid to survive.
US
and allied intelligence has also detected Syrian movement of chemical
weapons components in recent days, a senior US defence official told
the Associated Press. The source said intelligence officials had
detected activity around more than one of Syria's chemical weapons
sites in the last week.
The
Assad regime saw the first high-profile departure from its ranks in
recent months on Monday with the apparent defection of Makdissi. He
has left Damascus, reportedly for London.
He
had been a forceful defender of the regime since the earliest days of
insurrection. However, the once prolific user of Twitter had not
posted since late October and had been almost invisible in Syrian and
foreign media for weeks.
The
Beirut-based Hezbollah TV station al-Manar, claimed he had been
removed because he was at odds with regime views. Diplomatic sources
said he had defected.
Fighting
continued in Damascus for a fifth day on Monday, with the
international airport again receiving no flights, although unlike
late last week it notionally remained open. Regime forces clashed
with rebels nearby throughout the day.
Intense
outgoing rocket fire could be heard from behind the Kass Youn
mountain, on the city's eastern fringe. The rockets appeared to be
aimed at rebel strongholds on the rural outskirts of the capital,
particularly Darraya, which has remained a staunch opposition hub
despite months of security sweeps by regime troops and bombing by
jets.
The
fighting in the capital is the most significant challenge to the
power base of the Assad regime since mid-July, when rebel groups
launched co-ordinated raids. That assault was put down by loyalist
army divisions within a fortnight. The latest attack comes after
steady gains in rebel capability in the north and near Damascus.
The
EU said last night it was cutting back activity in Damascus. "The
EU delegation has decided to reduce activities in Damascus to a
minimum level due to the current security conditions," a
spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Lady Ashton said.
A
Lebanese MP confirmed on Monday that phone recordings relating to
weapons transfers from Turkey to Syrian rebels, published in Lebanese
media outlets, were of his voice.
Orkab
Sakr, who is aligned to the Future political bloc of the exiled
opposition leader Saad Hariri, confirmed that he had organised the
transfer of weapons to Syria.
However,
he said his activities for Hariri, who acts as the de facto head of
the Sunni community in Syria as well as Lebanon, were limited to
humanitarian missions.Save the Children claimed on Monday that an aid
shortfall of more than $200m was hindering relief efforts as winter
sets in. More than 400,000 refugees are thought to be living in
temporary accommodation outside Syria, and many more are expected to
flee.
Even mainstream news expresses some doubt about US intelligence regarding "weapons of mass destruction"
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