UPDATE: What’s Ahead for Syria? —TIPTOING TOWARD WAR
by Stephen Lendman
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New York Times/CBS poll showed 62% of respondents don’t believe America has a “responsibility” to intervene.
A new Pew survey at best found lukewarm support. Asked how Washington should respond if Assad used chemical weapons, 45% supported intervention while 31% opposed. Another 25% had no opinion.
Americans remain largely indifferent. Only 18% of Pew respondents said they follow Syrian events closely. The Times/CBS poll registered 10%. Apathy gives Obama more leverage. Expect him to take full advantage.
Perhaps Israeli involvement is planned. Thousands of IDF reservists were called up. On April 30, special drill exercises began along the Syrian/Lebanese borders.
They’ll continue through Sunday, May 5. Ground, air and naval branches are involved. A senior IDF official said the drill simulates a sudden security threat escalation. It tests the IDF’s ability to respond quickly.
Mossad-connected DEBKAfile said they’re “ready for a role in a potential American operation against Syria.” Perhaps they’ll be co-aggressors. NATO countries may join them. It’s usually planned that way.
On April 30, the Washington Post headlined “Obama moving toward sending lethal arms to Syrian rebels, officials say.”
The New York Times reported the same thing. It said “(s)uch a decision would be a policy shift for the Obama administration, which has stepped up its nonlethal aid but stopped short of lethal weaponry and expressed reluctance about greater military” involvement.
The Times ignored its June 21, 2012 report. It headlined “CIA Said to Aid Steering Arms to Syrian Opposition.” They’re based in southern Turkey. They’re funneling arms cross-border.
They include “automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, ammunition and some antitank weapons….They’re using “a shadowy network of intermediaries….”
The operation “is the most detailed known instance” of direct US support. “CIA officers are (in Turkey) trying to make new sources and recruit people said one Arab intelligence source who is briefed regularly by American counterparts.”
The Times hinted but stopped short of saying CIA agents operate covertly inside Syria. Washington’s been involved in supplying weapons and munitions all along. They flow through Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and perhaps Israel.
On April 30, The Times should have headlined Obama Considers Expanding Lethal Aid.
The Washington Post went further. It cited an unnamed US official saying Obama’s ready to move on “the left side” of options. They range from “arming the opposition to boots on the ground. We’re clearly on an upward trajectory. We’ve” upped the ante. We’ve put “more skin in the game.”
On May 1, Haaretz headlined “Former IDF Chief: Syria chemical weapons must be met with response,” saying:
CNN interviewed former IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi. He said after “confidently” determining that Assad used chemical weapons, not responding would send “the wrong message.”
“Doing nothing (is) not an option.” He suggested helping opposition forces “in a more concrete way, like providing them….weapons (and) maybe impos(ing) a no-fly zone, at least on part of Syria.”
He omitted explaining that imposing one is an act of war. It requires taking out Syrian air defenses, as well as command and control capability. It means bombing Syria to do it. It replicates Washington’s-led NATO war on Libya.
Ashkenazi called Syrian regime change a major blow to Iran and Hezbollah. He said achieving it represents a “mixed picture” for Israel.
“Syria was and still is the logistical hub of Hezbollah, and most of (its weapons come) from Syrian depots,” he claimed.
“Iran really (may) lose” its major regional ally “so that’s good news for Israel.” He added that Israel can deal effectively with “cross-border terror.”
On May 1, Press TV headlined “Militants carry out new chemical attack near Idlib: Syrian UN envoy,” saying:
Bashar al-Jaafari said militants spread plastic bag contents containing chemical material during an attack. Many Syrians were harmed by the “heinous and irresponsible act.”
The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) explained more. Al-Jaafari stressed that his government won’t ever use chemical weapons against its people. He demanded that countries claiming Syrian chemical weapons use “provide credible information on the alleged incidents so as to study and assess them.”
He denounced baseless accusations. “We expect the UN General Secretariat not to be part of this campaign targeting Syria.”
“What happened in Iraq has been alive in our mind until this moment, and our region in general and Iraq in particular are living He stressed the importance of adhering to the UN Charter and other international law, as well as respecting Syrian sovereignty.Despite repeated requests, no information’s been provided. Failure to do so suggests Ban Ki-moon’s attempt “to politicize the issue.” He does it repeatedly in league with Washington, other Western countries and anti-Syrian regional ones.What’s ongoing is “similar to what happened in Iraq before it was invaded,” said al-Jafaari. On April 28, Robert Fisk The “headlines are all the same: Syria uses chemical weapons. That’s how the theatre works.” Truth isn’t stranger than fiction. It’s entirely absent. A mantra of lies replacedOn May 1, Lebanon’s Daily Star headlined “Nasrallah hints Assad’s allies could intervene,” saying:He said Assad has “true friends in the region who will not allow Syria to fall into the hands of the United States, Israel, and ‘takfiri’ groups.”On April 30, Wall Street JournalSyria’s being systematically destroyed. Washington planned doing so years ago. Sovereign independence isn’t tolerated. It’s longstanding US policy. Numerous states learned the hard way. Syria is America’s latest victim. It’s falsely blamed for Washington’s war. The pattern by now is familiar.
Ravaging the world one country at a time or in multiples is policy. Terrorism is what they do, not us. Reasons for imperial wars are suppressed. Wealth, power, privileged and unchallenged dominance alone matter. Sacrificing hum enough gets people to believe them. Doing so facilitates what’s planned.
Syria’s in America’s crosshairs. Zionist hardliner Dennis Ross spurns peace. He supports Israel’s worst lawlessness. He prioritizes war. “It’s Time to Act in Syria,” he urges. “American values and interests are at stake.”
“There is a moral imperative to try to stop the onslaught against the Syrian population.”
“It’s hard to see how the country has a choice.”
“(W)e need to do more to protect the Syrian population. (It’s) an illusion to think that the United States will be able to affect the realities on the ground without providing lethal assistance.”
Ross wants US Patriot missiles on Syria’s border targeting its aircraft. He calls it “a no-fly zone on the cheap….Why not declare that any Syrian military aircraft flying within 50 miles of the border will be deemed to have hostile intent and will be shot down by the Patriots?”
“While there are costs in acting, the costs of inaction are growing by the day.” America has “no choice.”
Don’t expect Ross and likeminded ideologues to explain what’s most important. International law is clear and unequivocal. No nation may interfere in the internal affairs of others. Belligerent intervention is lawless aggression. America stands guilty as charged. Syria’s its latest victim. Full-scale intervention perhaps looms.
On April 30, the Jerusalem Post (JP) headlined “US mulls way to hit Syria chemical weapons sites.”
It cited a day earlier CNN report. It cited an anonymous senior administration saying “there is intensified planning in the works.”
“As the situation in Syria becomes more grave and as we are increasingly concerned about chemical weapons use in Syria, it’s the responsibility of the US military to prepare detailed options.”
Boots on the ground may follow. Air and/or sea missile strikes are more likely. Perhaps Turkey and other NATO countries will intervene. Maybe Jordan and Israel will get involved. They border Syria. JP cited the Arab newspaper Al-Akhbar. It reported “serious moves being made by the US that imply an imminent strike on Damascus.”
A senior Egyptian diplomat was quoted saying so. He added that Israel would likely be involved.
On April 30, Mossad-connected DEBKAfile (DF) headlined “Surprise Israeli military drill on Syrian, Lebanese borders,” saying:
Thousands of reservists were called up. “Moscow, Tehran, Damascus and Hezbollah headquarters would assume that Israel is massing troops in advance of US military intervention in Syria.”
DF added that “Obama is poised for a momentous decision on whether to pursue military action against Syrian military targets, including Bashar Assad’s chemical weapons facilities.”
Three “primary options” were suggested:
(1) Bombing Syrian military bases and related facilities.
(2) Targeting alleged chemical weapons sites.
(3) Getting US troops in Jordan involved or make it appear likely.
Perhaps a combination of all three are planned. IDF military exercises along the Lebanon/Syrian border suggests possible Israeli involvement.
On Tuesday morning, Obama held a surprise press conference. Press TV covered it. It asked this writer to comment on what he claimed about Syria. He alleged “some evidence” that Assad used chemical weapons against his own people. He lied saying so. He’s a serial liar. He wants confirmation of a preliminary assessment based on intelligence information.
He repeated his “game changer” warning. He accused Assad of “killing his own people.” We’ve heard it all before. He ignored long planned lawless US involvement. He was asked if by game changer he means US military action. He responded saying:
“(T)here are options that are available to me that are on the shelf right now that we have not deployed, and that’s a spectrum of options.”
“You know, as early as last year I asked the Pentagon, our military, our intelligence officials to prepare for me what options might be available.”
“And I won’t go into the details of what those options might be, but you know, clearly, that would be an escalation, in our view, of the threat to the security of the international community, our allies and the United States.”
“And that means that there’s some options that we might not otherwise exercise that we would strongly consider.” Whether full-scale intervention looms remains to be seen. Perhaps Libya 2.0 is planned. Doing so will likely involve NATO.
Rick Rozoff explained its post-Cold War global agenda. It partners in America’s wars. It’s waged them “on three continents.” Former US permanent NATO representative Kurt Volker was quoted saying it “engaged in eight simultaneous operations on four continents” in 2005. NATO’s “well poised to supplant the United Nations (as perhaps) the exclusive arbiter of conflicts” worldwide, said Rozoff. It calls itself a “political and military alliance for peace and security.” It’s always been more for offense than defense. It’s a US-led imperial tool. It acts without Security Council authorization. It ignores international law. It threatens world peace and human survival. (ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached atlendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book is titled “Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity.”
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.