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U.S.
Navy Destroyer Armed With Tomahawks Arrives Off Syrian Coast,
"Harassed" By Russian Warplanes
9 April, 2018
As the situation in Syria continues to escalate, guided missile destroyer USS Donald Cook has weighed anchor off Syrian territorial waters, and is reportedly being "harassed" by low-flying Russian warplanes, which have buzzed the "Arleigh Burke" class warship at least four times according to CNN Turk.
Of
note, the Donald Cook has 60 Tomahawk cruise missiles on board.
It is claimed that the US Donald Cook-named destroyer left Cyprus 's Larnaca port and landed near Syrian territorial waters. It was claimed that the missile destroyer named "Arleigh Burke" class Donald Cook (DDG-75) reached Tallus 100 kilometers and had 60 Tomahawk fuses on board. -CNN Turk (translated)
A
Navy source confirmed the deployment with the Washington
Examiner,
who said that the guided-missile-destroyer had just completed a port
call in Cyprus, while the Pentagon reportedly draws up plans for how
to deal with the situation.
U.S. military planners have drawn up more than one option for possible military action against Syria, including a strike similar to last year’s attack in which 59 sea-launched cruise missiles inflicted heavy damage on a Syrian Air Force airfield in Homs.
Pentagon officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the options now are similar to those presented to President Trump after last year’s chemical attack in northern Syria that killed and injured hundreds of civilians, including women and children.
But officials said the president could decide to choose a more robust option this time, given that Syrian President Bashar Assad didn’t seem to get the message last time. -Washington Examiner
What
is surprising is that according to the latest Stratfor naval map,
there was no other major naval support - either amphibious or carrier
strike groups - in the vicinity of Syria as of April 5.
The
destroyer's aggressive positioning comes hours after Israel conducted
a Monday morning strike on
Syria's T-4 airfield, situated about halfway between Homs (Syria's
third-largest city) and Palmyra (famously the site of ancient
ruins). RT reports
that two Israeli F-15 jets fired eight guided missiles at the
airfield from Lebanese airspace. The jets never entered Syria.
The
IDF has long noted the T-4 base for its housing of Iranian and Quds
forces with the backing of Syria.
For a long time Iran and the Quds Force have been operating, with the backing of Syrian forces and the approval of the Syrian regime, from the Syrian T-4 Airbase near Tadmor.
US
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reports on Monday "I
don't rule out anything right
now," when asked about a potential response - noting Russia's
alleged involvement.
“The first thing we have to look at is, why are chemical weapons still being used at all when Russia was the framework guarantor of removing all the chemical weapons?” he said. “And so, working with our allies and our partners from NATO to Qatar and elsewhere, we are going to address this issue.”
Last year, the U.S. warned the Kremlin ahead of the strike so that Russia could make sure its planes and personnel in Syria were not in harm’s way.
This time, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow has issued an explicit warning to Washington that any “military intervention” in Syria would be “unacceptable” and would lead to the “most serious consequences.”
The U.S. acted alone in April last year, but this time it could work through a coordinated international response. -Washington Examiner
Britain
and France have also hinted at possible military action in Syria -
following comments by British Foreign Secretary, who spoke by phone
with French Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian on
Monday, saying that there should be "no impunity for those that
use such barbaric weapons," in reference to the gas attack.
Speaking
to reporters at a Monday cabinet meeting, President Trump said he
would be making a decision "very quickly, probably by the end of
today" about
the U.S. response.
“This
is about humanity. We're talking about humanity, and it can't be
allowed to happen,” Trump said.
Meanwhile,
Russia appears to be making preparations for an imminent, US-led
attack and according to unconfirmed reports, there have been
"intensive flights of Russian aircrafts along the Syrian coast &
over Khmeimim base, in addition to the intense flights of military
aircrafts belonging to the Assad regime in the sky of Homs. There
is great anticipation from Assad and Russia for a possible blow."
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