U.S.: Syria used chemical weapons, crossing "red line"

[Antares]

The Obama administration has concluded that Syrian President Bashar Assad's government used chemical weapons against the rebels seeking to overthrow him and, in a major policy shift, President Obama has decided to supply military support to the rebels, the White House announced Thursday.

"The president has made a decision about providing more support to the opposition that will involve providing direct support to the [Supreme Military Council]. That includes military support," Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communication Ben Rhodes told reporters.

U.S.: Syria used chemical weapons, crossing "red line" - CBS News

Americans will die because of this.

 

[tjvh]

The chemical weapon red line (or goalposts) will simply move again. Arming Syrian rebels will most assuredly result in some of those arms being used against our troops in Afghanistan... It's simply a bad idea, and we should stay the hell out of it.

 

[velvtacheeze]

If Obama gives one friggin bullet to anyone in Syria, he's lost my support. I don't give a flying you know what about Syria and it's people. They only had themselves to blame for their deaths. Now they can blame the US too. Shame.

 

[Gracie]

I read this morning that Bill Clinton said Obama is a wuss if he doesn't do something. Guess Obama wants to keep Clinton on his side? Not sure what is going down but I find it quite interesting Obama is leaning towards assisting the rebels now, whereas before he wasn't saying much. Until Bill said what he said.

 

[Gracie]

My concern is...supplying the rebels but it doesn't help much...and then we wind up with boots on the ground in yet ANOTHER war.

 

[Desperado]

The Russians will not be happy about the No-Fly Zone either. This will get interesting very quickly.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323734304578543761501124132.html

 

[Antares]

Syrian rebels pledge loyalty to al-Qaeda

Syrian rebel group's pledge of allegiance to al-Qaeda's replacement for Osama bin Laden suggests that the terrorist group's influence is not waning and that it may take a greater role in the Western-backed fight to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The pledge of allegiance by Syrian Jabhat al Nusra Front chief Abou Mohamad al-Joulani to al-Qaeda leader Sheik Ayman al-Zawahri was coupled with an announcement by the al-Qaeda affiliate in Iraq, the Islamic State of Iraq, that it would work with al Nusra as well.

Syrian rebels pledge loyalty to al-Qaeda

Same thing we did in the 80's.

 

[waltky]

Even Russia urgin' Syria to co-operate with UN inspection team...

SYRIA ALLY RUSSIA URGES COOPERATION WITH UN
Aug 23,`13 -- Russia on Friday added its diplomatic weight to demands for a swift probe into an alleged chemical weapons attack that has injected new vigor into calls for international military action in Syria's civil war.

The U.S., Britain, France and other countries have pressed for a team of United Nations inspectors already in Syria to be granted immediate access to the sites of Wednesday's purported gas attack that activists say killed more than 130 people. In an attempt to push things along, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is dispatching his disarmament chief to Damascus to press President Bashar Assad's regime to agree to an investigation. Timing is vital, experts say, because the more time passes, the harder it is to detect what chemicals - if any - were used. Immediate access also would allow inspectors to collect blood and soil samples themselves and safeguard the chain of custody of and the integrity of the investigation. But in the chaos and violence of Syria's civil war, safe passage to the eastern Damascus suburbs in question would be difficult.

That was made clear on Friday, as government artillery on the Qassioun plateau overlooking Damascus pounded those suburbs in the heaviest strikes in days. Booms from the artillery echoed over the city every few minutes, along with several rounds of rocket fire that raised flashes of light from the suburbs. At times, three or four plumes of smoke could be seen billowing on the horizon. Syrian opposition figures and activists have reported death tolls from Wednesday's attack ranging from 136 to 1,300. If confirmed, even the most conservative tally would make it the deadliest alleged chemical attack in Syria's civil war. The Assad regime has denied the allegations, calling them "absolutely baseless" and accusing the opposition of staging the whole affair to smear the government and provoke outside intervention.

Russia, which is a close ally of Damascus and its most powerful protector on the international stage, also has suggested the opposition of staging the attack to discredit the regime. But on Friday, Moscow also called on both sides of the conflict to facilitate an investigation. "Russia immediately contacted the Syrian government asking them to cooperate with U.N. experts," the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said in a statement. "It is now a matter for the opposition, which should guarantee safe access of the mission to the supposed location of the incident." In Istanbul, Syria's main Western-backed opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, insisted it could guarantee the inspectors' safety in the territory it holds.

The rebels hope the purported chemical attack will be a watershed moment, jolting Western powers into action in a conflict that has killed more than 100,000 people. In this line of thinking, previous purported uses of chemical weapons were too small to make a difference, while Wednesday's casualty toll, even if the lowest number is verified, will be far harder to ignore. That, coupled with the shocking images of dead children and survivors gasping for breath, has introduced a new dynamic into the debate about how the international community should respond. France's foreign minister on Thursday raised the possibility of the use of force if Assad's regime was proven to have used chemical weapons, while Turkey said several red lines have been crossed.

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[Indofred]

Any country that refuses UN inspections should be invaded immediately.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Let Saudi Arabia invade this time. How about it?

 

[Snouter]

Saddam used chemicals also. We must shock and awe the Syrians, MOSSAD and Al Kayda before they nuke the USA! This is a direct threat to Fiji our unwavering ally.

 

[bianco]

Any country that refuses UN inspections should be invaded immediately.

Invaded by who?

America? troops on the "US warships are moving to the area"?

Americans will die...more Americans from the Christian world...as the Muslim world slaughters each other.

No American-Allies boots on the ground to get slaughtered!
Bombs and missiles only.


Let Indonesia invade for once.
It has the 14th largest military in the world, Australia the 26th.

Indonesia has 220 million population, and plenty of troops...and it's a Muslim country.

Let the Muslims invade!

 

[bianco]

I read this morning that Bill Clinton said Obama is a wuss if he doesn't do something. Guess Obama wants to keep Clinton on his side? Not sure what is going down but I find it quite interesting Obama is leaning towards assisting the rebels now, whereas before he wasn't saying much. Until Bill said what he said.

Would Clinton send his daughter to fight on the ground there?

Would Obama send his two daughters to fight on the ground there?

If they won't send their children to fight on the ground there, then they should not be sending other people's children.


America sending aid and troops to help Al Qaeda linked Muslim rebels in Syria?
Ridiculous!
Congress must say NO!

 

[NYcarbineer]

Saddam gassing his own people was one of the top 3 or 4 reasons the war mongers said we HAD to invade Iraq.

Where are those people now?

 

[Indofred]

Any country that refuses UN inspections should be invaded immediately.

Invaded by who?

America? troops on the "US warships are moving to the area"?

Americans will die...more Americans from the Christian world...as the Muslim world slaughters each other.

No American-Allies boots on the ground to get slaughtered!
Bombs and missiles only.


Let Indonesia invade for once.
It has the 14th largest military in the world, Australia the 26th.

Indonesia has 220 million population, and plenty of troops...and it's a Muslim country.

Let the Muslims invade!

I see you missed the link.

 

[FA_Q2]

Any country that refuses UN inspections should be invaded immediately.

Because Iraq was a MASSIVE mistake we should repeat it?

Fucking bullshit. Your hatred of Israel is exposing your idiocy on the matter…

Saddam gassing his own people was one of the top 3 or 4 reasons the war mongers said we HAD to invade Iraq.

Where are those people now?

Hopefully they are lamenting the idiocy that overtook them when they called for an invasion that we should have never been involved in. Are you seriously demanding that those people calling for an asinine invasion before should not have learned from their mistakes?

 

[eagle1462010]

Saddam gassing his own people was one of the top 3 or 4 reasons the war mongers said we HAD to invade Iraq.

Where are those people now?

LOL A leftist demanding military action?

You dang Warmonger you............................

Riddle me this.......................

Assad supports terrorism.......................

The Muslim Brotherhood are terrorist.........................

Which side do we choose...............................

BTW The Khurds are a totally different group of people. They haven't declared the Jihad against us.

Let them fight their own Civil War, as neither side is our friend anyway.

 

[ScienceRocks]

I want our military the fuck out of the middle east. NOT one more drop of American blood.

Let the arab world fix their own fucking mess. If we're so bad we shouldn't be part of that world anyway.

 

[ScienceRocks]

I'd rather spend the money building roads, bridges and a base on mars.

 

[eagle1462010]

Well Mathew, I agree.

I don't give a rats arse about Syria. I believe both sides our ultimately our enemy.

Let them kill each other. I simply don't care.