I
agree with Mike Ruppert on this one -
“This
says all that needs to be said on the subject. For the time being I
do not believe that conflict is imminent.
And
if it is, this story pretty well sums up the consequences in line
with the much more detailed analysis I have given repeatedly over the
last ten years.
I
have stopped expecting, however, even a remote resemblance to
rationality in world leaders. If I'm wrong, we'll be toast soon
enough as Iran and China and Russia step in on Syria's side.
Meantime,
I believe that, by rights, Fukushima is the ball we need to keep our
eye on.”
Never
has western propaganda been so bellicose and full of lies - "Syrian
offer on UN team 'too little, too late'"
'Ball
of fire in Middle East': Tehran, Damascus warn US against Syria
strike
Iran
has warned the US not to cross “the red line” on Syria
threatening it would have “severe consequences” for the White
House. This follows a statement from Syrian officials who said a
strike would create “very serious fallout” for the whole region.
RT,
25
January, 2013
"America
knows the limitation of the red line of the Syrian front and any
crossing of Syria's red line will have severe consequences for the
White House,"
the Iranian Fars news agency quoted deputy chief of staff of Iran's
armed forces, Massoud Jazayeri, as saying.
Syrian
authorities also warned the United States against any military
intervention, saying this would "inflame
the Middle East".
"US
military intervention will create very serious fallout and a ball of
fire that will inflame the Middle East,"
Information Minister Omran Zoabi told the Syrian state news agency,
SANA.
The
warning comes as Western officials stated they are considering “a
serious response”
from the international community to the alleged use of chemical
weapons in the Arab state.
On
Saturday, British PM David Cameron’s spokesperson said that both
the UK and the US have tasked officials to examine all the options.
At
the same time, US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said that the
Defense Department is “prepared
to exercise whatever option - if he [Obama] decides to employ one of
those options".
Earlier
on Friday Hagel suggested the Pentagon might move naval forces closer
to Syria in case Obama decides to proceed.
However,
US media reports that four US Navy Destroyers – USS Ramage, USS
Gravely, USS Barry and USS Mahan – are being pre-positioned in the
eastern Mediterranean Sea, although officials stress that the US Navy
has received no orders to prepare for military action.
All
four warships are said to have been equipped with cruise missiles.
It
was initially planned that the USS Mahan would be replaced with the
recently arrived USS Ramage, but navy commanders decided to change
the agenda and now have four warships in the region instead of three.
Also,
reports say that among the military options under consideration are
missile strikes on Syrian units believed to be responsible for
chemical attacks, or on Assad's air force and ballistic missile
sites.
Syrian
rebels fighting to oust President Bashar Assad have accused
government forces of attacking people in the Damascus suburbs with
toxic gas on Wednesday, claiming it killed anywhere between ‘dozens’
to ‘1,300’.
USS
Gravely.(AFP Photo / Paul Farley)
Official
Damascus has dismissed the accusations and in response blames rebel
forces for the alleged attack. Earlier Syrian government said that in
light of the event it was ready to engage in “maximum”
cooperation
with UN experts, according to Russia’s foreign ministry.
Following
the August 21 attack reports, Russia’s Foreign Ministry issued a
statement suggesting the alleged attack was a provocation on behalf
of the rebel forces.
“A
homemade rocket with a poisonous substance that has not been
identified yet – one similar to the rocket used by terrorists on
March 19 in Khan al-Assal - was fired early on August 21 [at Damascus
suburbs] from a position occupied by the insurgents,”
the Ministry then said in a statement.
Western
powers, however, suspect Assad’s forces and demand that the UN team
be allowed to examine the scene of the recent attack in a Damascus
suburb. The UN team arrived in Syria on Sunday to inspect three sites
under an agreement reached with Syrian authorities.
French
President Francois Hollande stated on Sunday there was "a
body of evidence indicating that the August 21 attack was chemical in
nature and that everything led to the belief that the Syrian regime
was responsible for this unspeakable act".
The
White House official, who spoke on Sunday on condition of anonymity,
said that the White House believes the Syrian government is barring a
UN investigative team immediate site access to give the evidence time
to degrade, according to AP.
Iran
claims that the Syrian government had told Tehran it would allow UN
inspectors to visit the site of the reported attack.
However,
a report on state-owned SANA suggested UN inspectors would not be
allowed to visit the site of the recent reported attack because it
was not part of a previously agreed list of locations.
Damascus
would cooperate "significantly
and transparently"
with UN investigations but not allow any "inspection
that will prejudice national sovereignty",
SANA quoted Information Minister Omran Zoabi as saying.
At
the same time the still volatile situation in Syria is set to
deteriorate even further with opposition forces claiming to have
received military
aid
from Turkey. Also Al-Qaeda’s affiliated bloc Al Nusra, involved in
anti-government fighting, pledged in a YouTube video to target
Alawite villages and towns in response to the alleged chemical
attack.
Syrian
govt greenlights UN chemical weapons probe
Syria
has given the “green light” for UN experts to visit the site of
an alleged chemical weapons attack in a Damascus suburb, state TV
reports, citing the Foreign Ministry.
RT,
25
January, 2013
"An
agreement was concluded today (Sunday) in Damascus between the Syrian
government and the United Nations during the visit of the UN high
representative for disarmament, Angela Kane, to allow the UN team led
by professor Aake Sellstroem to investigate allegations of chemical
weapons use in Damascus province," a
ministry statement said.
The
agreement "is effective immediately".
The
UN said its chemical weapons experts will start probing the site in
the Damascus suburb of Ghouta as early as Monday.
Syrian
authorities pledge to impose a ceasefire during the UN team
inspection.
Russia
has welcomed the move but has called on all the sides, “trying
to influence the results of the investigation in advance”, not
to “make tragic mistakes”.
Washington
is not satisfied with the agreement, saying that Syria’s offer to
allow UN inspectors access to the attack site was “too late
to be credible”.
"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 UN— five days ago," a senior
administration official said.
France also said on Sunday there can be “no doubt” that it’s the Assad regime, which is behind the alleged chemical weapons use near Damascus.
When asked about the Syrian government’s decision to grant the UN inspectors permission to inspect the sites of the suspected attacks, French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, replied that “this request was already made several days ago” and the location “has been bombed since.”
"From the moment the substance of the facts is established incontestably, there will necessarily be a strong response," Fabius is cited as saying by AFP.
The French stance was echoed by the UK’s foreign secretary, William Hague, who said that the international community “has to be realistic now about what the UN team can achieve” in Syria.
"The fact is that much of the evidence could have been destroyed by that artillery bombardment. Other evidence could have degraded over the last few days and other evidence could have been tampered with," Hague is cited as saying by Reuters.
France also said on Sunday there can be “no doubt” that it’s the Assad regime, which is behind the alleged chemical weapons use near Damascus.
When asked about the Syrian government’s decision to grant the UN inspectors permission to inspect the sites of the suspected attacks, French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, replied that “this request was already made several days ago” and the location “has been bombed since.”
"From the moment the substance of the facts is established incontestably, there will necessarily be a strong response," Fabius is cited as saying by AFP.
The French stance was echoed by the UK’s foreign secretary, William Hague, who said that the international community “has to be realistic now about what the UN team can achieve” in Syria.
"The fact is that much of the evidence could have been destroyed by that artillery bombardment. Other evidence could have degraded over the last few days and other evidence could have been tampered with," Hague is cited as saying by Reuters.
The
Syrian agreement comes amidst a media build up implying that Western
powers accuse Assad’s government for the toxic gas attack on August
21 that reportedly killed anywhere between ‘dozens’ to ‘1,300’
people in a Damascus suburb.
Shortly
before the move, a senior US official said there was "very
little doubt" that a chemical weapon had been used by
Assad's forces.
The
agreement comes despite the fact that earlier in the day the Syrian
Information Minister, Omran Zoabi said that Damascus would
cooperate "significantly and transparently" with
UN investigations but would not allow any "inspection
that will prejudice national sovereignty".
Meanwhile,
Western officials stated they are considering “a
serious response” from
the international community if it is proven that government forces
used chemical weapons against civilians.
On
Saturday, British PM David Cameron’s spokesperson said that both
the UK and the US have tasked officials to examine all the options.
Russia
has warned unilateral military action against Syria will have a
devastating impact on security in the Middle East region.
Earlier,
Syria’s Information Minister, Zoabi, stated that "US
military intervention will create very serious fallout and a ball of
fire that will inflame the Middle East.”
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