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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Report: 20 Injured In Another Chemical Attack In Syria
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 2: WoT Background
2 22:37 Procopius2k [5] 
3 19:49 Redneck Jim [4] 
8 16:01 g(r)omgoru [1] 
2 08:05 M. Murcek [2] 
17 21:50 rjschwarz [7] 
4 12:22 Uncle Phester [4] 
7 21:49 rjschwarz [11] 
1 01:55 g(r)omgoru [4] 
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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10 23:53 USN, Ret. [5]
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7 21:48 rjschwarz [4]
5 18:28 Rex Mundi [2]
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19 16:49 AlanC [2]
3 22:42 Skidmark [8]
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Page 4: Opinion
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2 08:29 Besoeker [1]
4 20:42 Mullah Richard [1]
Page 6: Politix
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4 20:13 Barbara [3]
Africa North
Vlad sends warships to region as Syria tensions rise.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/29/2013 08:20 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Interfax quoted a source in the armed forces' general staff as saying Russia, Syria's most powerful ally, was deploying a missile cruiser from the Black Sea Fleet and a large anti-submarine ship from the Northern Fleet in the "coming days"

According to Jane's, the ASW ship doubles as a fleet tug for towing.
Posted by: Penguin || 08/29/2013 9:11 Comments || Top||

#2  With the Champ and his Euro allies wavering, Vlad would be smart to send the entire Russian fleet into the Med.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/29/2013 10:02 Comments || Top||

#3  Does Vlad have cruise missle capable ships? Ship-borne rocketry?
Posted by: AlanC || 08/29/2013 10:33 Comments || Top||

#4  Rockets for damn sure. Pappy will have address the cruise question.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/29/2013 10:37 Comments || Top||

#5  Zero just lost/lost.

If he strikes, there will be counter strikes, then things spiral down.

If he backs off, the big dogs (Russia/China) will feel tremendously emboldened, they OWNED the US.
Posted by: Uneaper Spairong8790 || 08/29/2013 10:46 Comments || Top||

#6  The Moskva carries sixteen SS-N-12 Sandbox missiles. A rather nasty antiship missile, similar to the Harpoon.

The ship itself is an older design (recently overhauled), built according to the Soviet strategy of the "one fell swoop" attack. Hence what you see on deck is what you get.
Posted by: Pappy || 08/29/2013 11:54 Comments || Top||

#7  #5 Zero just lost/lost.

...and made it a hell of a lot more difficult for future polititards and Conservative Leaders of the USofA...
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 08/29/2013 15:14 Comments || Top||

#8  Welcome back "Bipolar World"---missed you.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/29/2013 16:01 Comments || Top||


Questioning of Brotherhood supreme guide adjourned for health reasons
[Al Ahram] Egypt's Prisons Department advises prosecution to adjourn investigation as Mohamed Badie is suffering from fatigue
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  Anemia. He keeps bleeding.
Posted by: || 08/29/2013 10:41 Comments || Top||

#2  It's self inflicted, MAKE him answer.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 08/29/2013 12:04 Comments || Top||


Salafist Nour Party says Egypt army is 'a red line'
[Al Ahram] Youness Makhioun, president of the Salafist Nour Party, has reiterated his party's support for the army-backed roadmap for Egypt's future.

"The Egyptian armed forces are a red line," he stated on Wednesday during a joint presser with Ahmed El-Mohammedanani, Presidential Media Advisor and front man.

"It is a patriotic army and anyone who hopes for its fall is a traitor," Makhioun added.

Supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi have repeatedly circulated rumours over splits within the army in protest of Morsi's ouster. Such suggestions have been strenuously denied by the armed forces who have not showed any signs of disunity.
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  jeez there's "red lines" all over the place
Posted by: Frank G || 08/29/2013 9:51 Comments || Top||

#2  I came to you, when I needed a blast
You took my guns, and put them to the test
I saw some things, I never would have guessed
I feel like a grenade, I threw the whole pin behind

The ol' red line is a friend of mine
And its bad war we've been makin'
Right now I'm rollin' down from old Cairo
And the rebels will soon be breaking.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 08/29/2013 13:32 Comments || Top||

#3  Damn a massive outbreak of lyricism at RB, is it deh Moon?
Posted by: Shipman || 08/29/2013 16:24 Comments || Top||


Egyptian political parties reject military intervention in Syria
[Al Ahram] Rebel Campaign, Strong Egypt Party and Free Egyptians have denounced preparations for an international military intervention in Syrian territory; Rebel spokesperson says Egypt must not allow use of Suez Canal in any attack
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Egypt armed forces oath no longer swear loyalty to president of republic
[Al Ahram] Interim President Adly Mansour has released a presidential decree on Wednesday changing the armed forces' oath of loyalty, removing from the old version the phrase "to be loyal to the president of the republic."

The new oath issued by decree number 562 for the year 2013 as published in the official gazette on Wednesday will be as follows:

"I swear to God to be a loyal soldier to the Republic of Egypt...protecting its security and peace...protecting and defending it on land, at sea or in air, inside and outside the republic...obeying military orders, implementing my leaders' orders, protecting my weapon which i will not leave until death...God is witness to what I say."
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Britain
David Cameron loses Commons vote on Syria action
British MPs have rejected possible UK military action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government to deter the use of chemical weapons.

A government motion was defeated by 285 to 272, a majority of 13 votes.
Posted by: 3dc || 08/29/2013 20:16 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Wow. Is Bambi really this stupid? What a dumb question.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 08/29/2013 21:45 Comments || Top||

#2  Is Bambi's ego that big?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/29/2013 22:37 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
NYPD Designates Mosques As Terrorism Organizations
[Ynet] The New York Police Department has secretly labeled entire mosques as terrorism organizations. The designation has allowed police to use informants to record sermons and spy on imams, often without specific evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

Since the 9/11 attacks, the NYPD has opened at least a dozen "terrorism enterprise investigations" into mosques. The TEI is a police tool intended to help investigate terrorist cells. Designating an entire mosque as a terrorism enterprise means that anyone who attends prayer services is a potential subject of the investigation and fair game for surveillance.
More from the [Boston] Telegram:
Designating an entire mosque as a terrorism enterprise means that anyone who attends prayer services there is a potential subject of an investigation and fair game for surveillance.

Many TEIs stretch for years, allowing surveillance to continue even though the NYPD has never criminally charged a mosque or Islamic organization with operating as a terrorism enterprise.

The documents show in detail how, in its hunt for terrorists, the NYPD investigated countless innocent New York Mohammedans and put information about them in secret police files. As a tactic, opening an enterprise investigation on a mosque is so potentially invasive that while the NYPD conducted at least a dozen, the FBI never did one, according to interviews with federal law enforcement officials.

The strategy has allowed the NYPD to send undercover officers into mosques and attempt to plant informants on the boards of mosques and at least one prominent Arab-American group in Brooklyn, whose executive director has worked with city officials, including Bill de Blasio, a front-runner for mayor.

The revelations about the NYPD's massive spying operations are in documents recently obtained by The News Agency that Dare Not be Named and part of a new book, ''Enemies Within: Inside the NYPD's Secret Spying Unit and bin Laden's Final Plot Against America.'' The book by AP news hounds Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman is based on hundreds of previously unpublished police files and interviews with current and former NYPD, CIA and FBI officials.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/29/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I wish more municipalities and cities had the guts to see things as they are and put ALL mosques under surveillance
Posted by: Mikey Hunt || 08/29/2013 0:48 Comments || Top||

#2  Well at least now we know what is motivating the Federal uproar over the NYPD 'Stop and Frisk' policy.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/29/2013 0:52 Comments || Top||

#3  Well, given the feds flubbed the warnings into 9/11, redux Fort Hood, why wouldn't you do your own security work if you have a source of credible threat (see Blind Sheif, first Trade Center bombing). PC'ism in the Beltway has gotten thousands killed by now.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/29/2013 8:36 Comments || Top||

#4  Yes "flubbed the warnings into 9/11" and....following the initial Boston bombing, reportedly forgot to inform the NYPD of the Tsarnaev bros. follow-on NYC target folder.

I'd love to have a beer or two with NYC Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/29/2013 9:40 Comments || Top||

#5  For some reason the phrase "It could be a mosque I went to 35 years ago---if I were going to mosques" keeps popping up in my head.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/29/2013 16:06 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Kashmir rebels threaten surge in attacks
[Pak Daily Times] Kashmiri rebels are threatening an "unprecedented" surge in attacks on Indian targets as deadly skirmishes imperil any rapprochement between Pakistain's new government and New Delhi.

A fresh influx of battle-hardened fighters is ready to flood the disputed Himalayan territory, where India and Pakistain have fought two wars, from Afghanistan when NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
troops quit next year.

Syed Salahudeen, the head of United Jihad Council, an umbrella organization of groups fighting against Indian rule in Kashmire, said "thousands" of rebels would move across from Afghanistan.

"The coming months and years will see a tremendous surge in mujahedeen's activities" in Indian-held Kashmire (IHK), he told AFP.

"The encounter between mujahedeen and Indian forces will enhance to an unprecedented level. The increase in attacks will be enormous and Indian forces will face huge losses."

Regular deadly exchanges of fire across the heavily militarised Line of Control (LoC) have killed 11 people since August 5 and sent tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours soaring.

The latest spate of festivities began when five Indian soldiers were killed in a raid that New Delhi blamed on the Pak military. The attack came shortly after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
took office, promising to improve ties with India.
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


International-UN-NGOs
UN Atomic Agency: Iran Ups Nuke Activity
[Ynet] The UN's atomic energy agency says Iran has prepared more than 1,000 advanced uranium enriching machines to be started up. The move raises concerns among countries that think Tehran wants to make nuclear arms.

A report released Wednesday from the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran has put 1,008 of the advanced centrifuges under vacuum. Such a move is normally one of the last steps before the machines start spinning uranium gas into the material that can be used either as reactor fuel or as the core of nuclear warheads, depending on its enrichment level.
No more effective than under the iron hand of Md. El Baradei, but tremendously more honest. Which is something, I suppose.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/29/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Science & Technology
Video: 4 missiles that may fly over Syria
Posted by: Frozen Al || 08/29/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Turkey Rotates Missiles Toward Syria
[Xinhua] Turkey has rotated its ground-to- ground missiles toward Syria in the southern province of Hatay as it is ready for a possible military operation against the war-torn neighbor.

The Turkish army has deployed a number of missiles in Hatay's Kirikhan district and pointed Stinger and I-Hawk missiles toward Syria, according to English daily Today's Zaman.

Meanwhile,
...back at the wine tasting, Vince was about to start tasting his third quart...
Mustafa Aydogdu, front man for the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate, said at a meeting in Istanbul that Turkey has sent some professional workers, who were trained to identify and decontaminate chemical weapons, to its border with Syria.

"We have increased our measures significantly since last week to prepare particularly in case of a chemical attack. We have experts who could deal with chemical attacks, and we have deployed almost all of them in Kilis, Hatay and Sanliurfa," he added.

Sharing 900 km border with Syria, Turkey hosts about 200,000 refugees from the neighbor and has been a staunch supporter of the opposition fighters against the Syrian government.
When President Erdogan stops being your BFF, he really means it. No more family picnics on the shore of the Mediterranean for you, Mister Assad!
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/29/2013 08:54 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  No more family picnics on the shore of the Mediterranean for you, Mister Assad!

Latakia, TW.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/29/2013 16:18 Comments || Top||

#2  We must retrieve one of those I-hawks for when that sad day comes, as it must come to us all, to serve as a beacon.
Posted by: Shipman || 08/29/2013 16:30 Comments || Top||

#3  Odd, does he mean Rockets?

Missiles orient themselves, Rockets don't.(They also are un-aimed, or poorly aimed)
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 08/29/2013 19:49 Comments || Top||


Strike against Assad stalled due to UK political rows.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/29/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Can't blame the Poms. Lizzie van Zyl stories hold little appeal.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/29/2013 1:26 Comments || Top||

#2  Three cheers for parliamentary system.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/29/2013 3:34 Comments || Top||

#3  Pretty much the point of politics: to prevent, or at least slow down, random bomb throwing.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 08/29/2013 8:20 Comments || Top||

#4  Boy Howdy is the Won going to have a problem if the Poms pass. He has painted himself into a corner that may soon have no path out.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 08/29/2013 8:54 Comments || Top||

#5  The French appear to be doing what the French do as well. Nice to see Champ hanging out there. Perhaps discreet flower sack bombing could send the needed message.

In other news: Appears US Intelligence [or somebody's intelligence] has discovered that AQ elements in and around Benghazi, are training terrs for deployment to the ranks of the Syrian rebels. The alleged trainers are reported to have been involved in the Benghazi attack.

Mebe this is why we no longer need to maintain Klingon monitoring of the Benghazi suspect.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/29/2013 9:50 Comments || Top||

#6  The Krauts are smiling at the Bear, and are now backing off as well. The Champ and his Shadow Gov't PR department are so fok'd. If he goes it, it would appear he goes it alone.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/29/2013 9:58 Comments || Top||

#7  When impotence is a good word...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 08/29/2013 10:06 Comments || Top||

#8  Not obliged to consult the legislature? Bull.

Its not like we are scrambling to counter a second wave at Pearl Harbor, this sabre has been rattling for some time. Obama wants his war, he should have been ahead of the game and already had his approval from Congress instead of clowning around the golf course at Mah-thah's Vin yahd.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 08/29/2013 11:24 Comments || Top||

#9  It's too late for that strike plan anyways.
Posted by: newc || 08/29/2013 12:44 Comments || Top||

#10  No blood, no foul, all good. FORE!
Posted by: Shipman || 08/29/2013 16:32 Comments || Top||

#11  #9 It's too late for that strike plan anyways.

Oh, I don't know. We still have good OPSEC if the Syrians don't read the papers, watch TV, listen to the radio, stay off from the interwebs, or listen to rumors.
Posted by: SteveS || 08/29/2013 16:43 Comments || Top||

#12  REPORT: America Is 'Livid' With The British And Could Launch Syria Strikes On Its Own

...and President Amateur Hour, with his nose now firmly out of joint, may very well do so....



Posted by: Uncle Phester || 08/29/2013 17:49 Comments || Top||

#13  Maybe Obama should have been nicer to the Brits. The UK, Australia and Canada, basically the Commonwealth, have been solid Allies for the past 100 years. Obama is isolating us from our traditional Anglophile allies. This will not end well.
Posted by: retired LEO || 08/29/2013 19:11 Comments || Top||

#14  Obama is isolating us from our traditional Anglophile allies. This will not end well.
Posted by retired LEO


He and his shadow gov't see our 'Anglophile allies' [and a large portion of the US] quite differently LEO. They view peoples and issues through the lenses of Zuma and Mugabe.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/29/2013 19:28 Comments || Top||

#15  Parliament voted NO.
So its Obama & France
Posted by: 3dc || 08/29/2013 19:42 Comments || Top||

#16  So its Obama & France

"You know frankly, going to war without France AND the One® is like going deer hunting without an accordion. You just leave have a lot of useless noisy baggage behind."
...regrets to Jed Babbin
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 08/29/2013 20:29 Comments || Top||

#17  President could just announce that the inspectors found no evidence and let Assad (and himself) off the hook. Only Assad would really know he got away with it (if he did). Far better to let it slip than to bomb anyway because of some off the cuff nonsense remark.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 08/29/2013 21:50 Comments || Top||


Assad Keeps Calm Image in Face of Biggest Threat to Rule
[An Nahar] Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Trampler of Homs...
is trying to portray the image of a calm and determined leader ready to confront any challenge, as the West mulls military action against his regime.

"At the presidential palace, everything is calm today and work goes on as usual. There's no sign of nervousness. The same goes for the army headquarters. They will fight to the end," a Syrian businessmen familiar with the ruling elite told Agence La Belle France Presse on Wednesday.

"The president is carrying on with his activities and receiving advisers. You won't see any trace of tiredness or stress. He tries to show that he's in control of the situation."

An ophthalmologist by training, Assad, 47, inherited the Syrian leadership upon the death of his iron-fisted father Hafez Assad in 2000.

Now faced with the biggest threat to his rule, the younger Assad has said several times he will not step down before his mandate expires in 2014.

A European diplomat who often visits Damascus said the president insists he is "innocent of the charges leveled against him," in particular the suspected chemical weapons attack near Damascus last week.

"(He considers) the threat of Western air strikes proof that this is an international plot promoted by Israel," he added.

According to the diplomat, Assad "will appeal to Syrian nationalist sentiment by insisting on the 'aggression' of the West against the Arab world, and by presenting himself as a victim."
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Russia and China have his back in a kerfuffle with a CiC (spit) whose spine is derived from and used only upon approval by ValJar after all the political blowback she can imagine has been weighed.

Excepting a wildcard played as a result of an anticipated reveal of Zeros emasculation, I'd be pretty calm as well....

Posted by: Uncle Phester || 08/29/2013 9:43 Comments || Top||

#2  He's a spiteful little thug who has just had his bluff called. Send him back to the minors until he knows how to put his big boy pants on and swing the bat like a man.

Unrelated: His skin color is looking a bit gray of late. Could those Lucky Strikes be working ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/29/2013 9:55 Comments || Top||

#3  Unrelated: His skin color is looking a bit gray of late. Could those Lucky Strikes be working ?
Posted by: Besoeker 2013-08-29 09:55


Lucky Strike makes a menthol..?/sarc
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 08/29/2013 11:30 Comments || Top||

#4  ...and sometimes personal differences can lead to unintended (and disastrous) consequences.

The day draws neigh were Cmdr. Zero will have to acknowledge that the rest of the world does not appreciate his condescension....

Posted by: Uncle Phester || 08/29/2013 12:22 Comments || Top||


U.S. Says 'No Avenue Forward' on U.N. Syria Resolution
[An Nahar] A resolution condemning Syria's alleged poison gas use has stalled in the U.N. Security Council due to Russian "intransigence," the United States said Wednesday.

"We see no avenue forward, given continued Russian opposition to any meaningful Council action on Syria," State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf told news hounds as Washington and Western allies mull a possible strike on Syria after last week's alleged chemical weapons attack by Syrian regime forces.

Harf also strongly suggested that Washington would consider proceeding with whatever plans it was developing with its allies in response to actions by the Syrian regime.

"We cannot be held up in responding by Russia's continued intransigence at the United Nations
...boodling on the grand scale...
, and quite frankly the situation is so serious that it demands a response," Harf said.

"Syria cannot hide behind Russian intransigence at the Security Council. It is unacceptable."

Harf spoke shortly after Britannia, China, La Belle France, Russia and the United States discussed a British draft resolution that would allow military action in Syria.

"Today we heard nothing different from the Russians," she said, citing Moscow's repeated vetoes of Security Council resolutions that condemned Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Scourge of Qusayr...
's government's handling of the crisis in the war-ravaged Middle Eastern nation.

Harf also said Assad's regime has used a visit by U.N. inspectors currently in Syria to delay any possible Western response and to "systematically destroy evidence" of any recent chemical weapons use.

"We believe that the Assad regime has to be held responsible," she said, but she stressed that "no decision has been made" on a final course of action on Syria.
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [11 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  As Perts around the MSM-Net say, the only other alternatives for the US is

- No MilAction.
- Unilateral MilAction.
- Unilateral Western MilAction, i.e. the US + UK-NATO/EU.
- 1999 KOSOVO-style multi-national intervention, to includ the Russians. China? Iran?

WILL ALLEGED MARXIST-ANARCHIST-GLOBALIST POTUS BAMMER = AMERIKA HOLD THE BALL???

As per the OBAMA DOCTRINE, many Syrian refugees claim to be sufferring + dying due to the Bammer's = USA's continuing inaction or indecision.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 08/29/2013 0:20 Comments || Top||

#2  This Harf person and those fok'n glasses. She makes Jay Carney sound like Tom Landry. Where do they FIND these people ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/29/2013 1:01 Comments || Top||

#3  Where do they FIND these people ?

Where did they find Sandra Fluke?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/29/2013 1:50 Comments || Top||

#4  More ...

* TOPIX > [EurActiv] NO STRIKE ON SYRIA BEFORE G20 SUMMIT: RUSSIAN EXPERTS.

* GLOBAL TIMES > OP-ED: [Senior US Official] US PROMISES NO UNILATERAL SYRIA STRIKE.

* SAME > BRAZIL OPPOSES MILITARY INTERVENTION WIDUT UN BACKING.

America = Amerikka has COLUMBIA, BRAZIL has PAULA ABDUL.

* SAME > SYRIA STRIKE COULD SHATTER OBAMA'S LEGACY.

Read, OBAMA DOCTRINE???

versus

* XINHUA > US CAN'T JUSTIFY POTENTIAL SYRIA STRIKE.

* SAME > US ATTACK ON SYRIA COULD BACKFIRE.

* GLOBAL TIMES > OBAMA'S GREAT ASIAN DAWDLE [waffling = reluctance].

How POTUS Obama acts in the ME also applies to East-South Asia, NOW DITTO IN VICEY VERSEYS.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 08/29/2013 3:08 Comments || Top||

#5  Gridlock is fine with me. It allows two groups of bloodthirsty Islamic barbarians to continue slaughtering each other - and the longer that continues, the fewer Islamic barbarians will remain to breed more if the same. I say: give both sides more bullets, cluster bombs, napalm - whatever.

I thought Reagan had the right idea - keep the Iraqis and the Iranians grinding each other into hamburger - while arming both sides. A win-win situation.

What the world needs right now is more coordinated effort to get the major factions of Islam to kill each other off in more places.

'Sort of like the black hoodlums and Latino gangs gunning each other down in many American cities. As long as the carnage can kept away from the hardworking blacks, Hispanics, Asians, whites, etc - let the gang-bangers tear into each other.

Rant over.
Posted by: Lone Ranger || 08/29/2013 11:39 Comments || Top||

#6  Which means Cmdr. Zero is about to shift into Reverse....

Posted by: Uncle Phester || 08/29/2013 15:16 Comments || Top||

#7  No avenue forward on UN just means they will try the NATO angle that was used in Kosovo. If NATO won't go they'll just go ahead without a fig leaf.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 08/29/2013 21:49 Comments || Top||


Mansour Calls Muallem, Says Lebanon Won't Remain Silent over Israeli Attack on Hizbullah
[An Nahar] Caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour on Tuesday telephoned Syrian FM Walid Muallem and discussed with him "the latest developments and threats against Syria," amid reports of an imminent military strike against the Syrian regime, Leb's National News Agency reported.

"This dangerous situation requires an emergency meeting of the (Lebanese) cabinet, or at least a ministerial meeting, to discuss the threats that are being launched against Syria and the possibility of a military strike against it and the direct repercussions on Leb," Mansour told NNA.

"Such an emergency meeting would enable Leb to confront these challenges or limit their consequences," he said.

Mansour added that the cabinet must convene to address "the dangerous situations although it is acting in caretaker capacity."

Earlier on Tuesday, Mansour warned that a war against Syria will have negative repercussions on the entire region.

"Leb will not remain silent if Israel exploited a strike against Syria to attack Hizbullah in the South," he noted.

"The resistance and army protect Leb and the country has a natural right to defend its land," Mansour stressed.

"Despite its fighting in Syria, the resistance is ready at any time to face any assault," he explained.

"The resistance was formed to defend Leb and its land alongside the army," he remarked.
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Lebanon Won't Remain Silent

It'll say "It hurts so much! Mommy make it stop!"
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/29/2013 1:55 Comments || Top||


Aoun Urges Change in Methods of 'Combating Terrorism' in Lebanon
[An Nahar] Free Patriotic Movement
Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic...
leader MP Michel Aoun
...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...
on Tuesday called for a change in the methods of "combating terrorism" in the country, slamming what he called the "chaos" that characterizes the relations among the various security agencies.

"Everyone knows that we had warned against the entry of Syrians and said that they must be registered because we can't host people whose political affiliations we don't know, even if they come from a neighboring country," Aoun said after the weekly meeting of the Change and Reform bloc in Rabiyeh.

"We also called for controlling the border and the illegitimate border crossings, but the survey (of refugees) and the controlling of the border and crossings did not happen and our calls fell on the deaf ears of the security officials," Aoun added.

He noted that the number of Syrian refugees has swollen to more than one million "and our ministers proposed plans to reach a solution that guarantees their return to their country."

Aoun recalled that he had told premier Najib Miqati "countless times" that it is unacceptable to "keep 400,000 civilians in Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
under the mercy of 400 gunnies."

Commenting on the latest audio message released by Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir, Aoun said the runaway Islamist holy man hinted that "no region will remain immune to attacks in the vein of what happened in Tripoli and Dahieh."

"We will be targeted and we are not better than the others citizens. Had there not been conspiracies involving domestic parties, security measures would have accompanied the escalation on the border, but unfortunately the 'occupied minds' cannot decide anything unless it serves the interest of the occupier," Aoun added.

"Terrorists and Takfiri
...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed...
s begin small, just like plants, before they grow bigger and the same can be said about the terrorist Takfiri cells, but state officials are saying that they can't do anything," he lamented.

"We had stressed the need to address terrorism and terrorists, who find a safe haven in society which offers them a cover and rejects any attempt to capture them," the FPM leader went on to say.
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


Asir Warns Christians of Blasts, Blames Tripoli Bombings on Syria, Allies
[An Nahar] Fugitive Islamist holy man Ahmed al-Asir on Tuesday warned Christians that bombings might target their areas, citing Hizbullah chief His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...
's latest speech, in which he said that Takfiri
...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed...
s might target any Lebanese region with the aim of inciting strife.

In a new audio recording uploaded to the Internet, Asir extended condolences to "our people in Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
, (Syria's) Ghouta and Egypt," in reference to the twin bombings that left 45 people dead and more than 500 injured in the northern city and the alleged chemical attack near Damascus.

"Every prudent person has become deeply convinced that the Iranian-Syrian camp and their tools in the region are behind this criminal act (in Tripoli) and at least they are the prime suspects," Asir, on the run since the deadly Abra battle, added.

"This camp is the prime suspect in this crime, whether it was executed by (Hizbullah), the Syrian Social (National Party), the Baath (Party) or the likes of (locked away
Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up!
ex-minister Michel) Samaha," Asir went on to say.

"It is important not to cover up the truth as some have tried to do thinking that they would be protecting Leb from strife," he added.

Asir stressed that no one can convince Tripoli's residents that Nasrallah's speech had nothing to do with the deadly bombings, noting that attacks cannot put an end to their support for the Syrian uprising.

The runaway holy man said Nasrallah "must be held fully responsible for what happened in Leb and what is happening at the moment, whether against his sect or against the other sects."

"I tell our Christian partners to be very cautious because (kabooms) in the vein of of what happened in Tripoli and Dahieh might target their streets so that Nasrallah can prove his words that no city or sect will remain safe and that the Lebanese must defend themselves against Takfiris," Asir added.

Sheikh Ahmed al-Gharib -- a suspect who has been locked away
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
in connection with the Tripoli blasts and a member of a pro-Syria Islamist group -- has confessed to his prior knowledge of the bombings and to Syria's involvement in the attacks, according to a report published in al-Joumhouria newspaper on Tuesday.
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under: Salafists


Ban says UN inspectors need 'four days' in Syria
[Al Ahram] UN Secretary-General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
said Wednesday that UN inspectors needed four days to conclude a probe into chemical weapons use in Syria.

"My mandate and my responsibility at this time is to conduct a thorough and complete investigation," Ban told news hounds in The Hague. "Let them (inspectors) conclude their work for four days," he said, adding that their findings would then be analysed and the result sent to the UN Security Council.
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Translation: I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.
Posted by: Spot || 08/29/2013 8:01 Comments || Top||


Britain to submit UN resolution on Syria
[Al Ahram] PM Cameron said Britain would present a resolution 'condemning the chemical weapons attack by Assad' to a meeting of the Security Council's five permanent members on Wednesday
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Syria's Al-Halqi Says His Country Will Become 'Graveyard of Invaders'
[An Nahar] Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi said Wednesday that Syria will turn into a "graveyard of the invaders" in case of a Western military intervention.

Syria will "surprise the aggressors as it surprised them in" the 1973 Yom Kippur war, when Arab forces caught Israel off guard, and become "the graveyard of the invaders," he said, quoted by state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
The "colonialist threats" of Western powers "do not terrorize us because of the will and determination of the Syrian people, who will not accept being humiliated," Halqi said.

Meanwhile,
...back at the revival hall, the SWAT team had finally arrived...
deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad said the West had pushed anti-regime rebels to use poison gas, while blaming it on the government, as a pretext for a U.S.-led military intervention.

"The terrorist groups used sarin gas in several areas of the country... with the encouragement of the Americans, the British and French," Muqdad told news hounds.

"The encouragement of these Western countries must stop because by defending these terrorists... these groups will soon turn their chemical arms against the people of Europe."

Muqdad was speaking after a meeting with U.N. disarmament envoy Angela Kane, the leader of a team of U.N. weapons inspectors.

Syria's ambassador to the United Nations
...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships...
, Bashar al-Jaafari, meanwhile, told the state news agency SANA that rebels had used chemical arms to provoke a Western intervention.

He also said that dozens of Syrian soldiers inhaled poison gas in new incidents in his country and called on the U.N. to investigate.

Ambassador Jaafari told news hounds he had asked U.N. Secretary General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
to extend the mandate of a U.N. chemical weapons team now in Syria to include the "heinous" new incidents.

He said "dozens" of Syrian soldiers were being treated in hospitals after the incidents on August 22, 24 and 25 in the Damascus suburbs. Jaafari gave no other details.
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Britain Says No Syria Strike before U.N. Inspection Results
[An Nahar] Britannia will not take military action against the Syrian regime before United Nations
...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks...
inspectors report back on evidence of chemical weapons attacks, according to a motion published by the government Wednesday that is set to be put to a parliamentary vote.

Lawmakers are due to vote on Britannia's response to the attacks on Thursday but any military action will require a further vote of parliament's House of Commons after the U.N. experts report back, according to the motion.

The U.N. Security Council, of which Britannia is a permanent member, should be immediately briefed as soon as the inspections are complete and then "every effort" should be made to secure a resolution from the Security Council backing military action, the motion said.

"The United Nations Security Council must have the opportunity immediately to consider that briefing and that every effort should be made to secure a Security Council Resolution backing military action before any such action is taken," it stated.

"Before any direct British involvement in such action a further vote of the House of Commons will take place."
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Finally, the voice and logic of the late David Kelly at least partially vindicated. All of this may soon get very interesting.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/29/2013 1:06 Comments || Top||

#2  The only people supporting Syrian "intervention" are a few MPs and the cabinet.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 08/29/2013 8:00 Comments || Top||


Syria accuses West of 'inventing' excuses; Jordan king urges solution
[Al Ahram] Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi on Wednesday accused Western countries of "inventing" excuses to take military action against Syria over its alleged chemical weapons attacks.


"Western countries, starting with the United States, are inventing fake scenarios and fictitious alibis to intervene militarily in Syria," he said, quoted by state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
In the meantime, Jordan's King Abdullah II and Paleostinian president the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas
... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial...
called Wednesday for a "comprehensive" solution in Syria, as Washington and its allies considered military action against the kingdom's northern neighbour.

"The king and Abbas discussed the Syrian crisis and urged a comprehensive solution to the crisis that would end the suffering of the Syrian people," a palace statement said after the two leaders met in Amman.

Jordan's Information Minister Mohammad , whose country is a key US ally, reiterated on Wednesday that the kingdom would not be used as "a launchpad" for any military intervention in Syria.
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Muslim bloc urges 'decisive action' against Damascus
[Al Ahram] The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Wednesday condemned alleged poison gas attacks in Syria, blaming the government and calling for "decisive action" in response.
"Let's you and him fight!"
The world's largest grouping of Mohammedan nations "stressed the need to hold the Syrian government legally and morally accountable for this heinous crime and to bring its perpetrators to justice".

The OIC called on the UN "Security Council to discharge its duty of preserving international security and stability, taking a unified position against this monstrous crime and its perpetrators.

"This attack is a blatant affront to all religious and moral values and a deliberate disregard of international laws and norms, which requires a decisive action," it said in a statement.

OIC chief Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said he "remains convinced of the need to urgently work out a political solution to extricate Syria from this bloody crisis and to restore peace and security in the country."
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  The best idea I've heard about Syria is this:

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Jordan have large well equipped armed forces. If they want Assad out they have the power to do it without involving anyone from the west.

Oh, they're afraid of Iran and Russia? Too bad, so sad.........I'll make the pop-corn.
Posted by: AlanC || 08/29/2013 10:39 Comments || Top||

#2  If the Musilim bloc wants to topple Assad then there imust be a reason for us helping him.
Posted by: JFM || 08/29/2013 12:02 Comments || Top||

#3  Of those I'd only care about the Jordanians opinion. Their ear is 2nd only to The Wally and have a keen sense of what it takes to live with a bunch of rough and rowdy neighbors. If they ask for help go, but I bet they won't ask in this instance.
Posted by: Shipman || 08/29/2013 16:36 Comments || Top||


Syrian civilians must be protected: Human Rights Watch
It's a counterintuitive world we live in, Brethren and Sistern.
[Al Ahram] Anticipating a Western-led military strike on Syria's regime, Human Rights Watch
... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world...
warned Wednesday that any such intervention must include every possible effort to protect the civil war torn nation's civilians.
Three or four hundred people exterminated like cockroaches, and they tell us to be careful not to hurt anybody?
The US-based rights group stressed it was not taking up a position on possible military action, which Washington and other Western powers have hinted was due after alleged poison gas attacks last week near Damascus.
Thank them most to death.
They have to be careful not to criticize Champ while at the same time criticizing the rest of us...
But "if there is a military intervention, all warring parties must strictly adhere to the laws of war," which forbid deliberate attacks against civilians and the use of weapons such as cluster munitions or antipersonnel landmines, the group said.
If all parties had adhered to the laws of war no civilians woulda been gassed.
"Military action carried out in the name of upholding a basic humanitarian norm -- you don't gas children in their sleep -- will be judged by its effect in protecting all Syrian civilians from further unlawful attacks, whether chemical or conventional," HRW executive director Kenneth Roth said in a statement.
Had a little difficulty speaking around the unmelted butter in his mouth, I'll betcha.
The group said all parties involved, including Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad's
Light of the Alawites...
forces and the rebels fighting to oust them, should adhere to laws of war.
Doh.
Any forces involved in military action against Syria should also consider "the additional humanitarian needs" created by such attacks, noted the group, which also urged provision of aid even if Damascus objected.
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Any of these basic humanitarian people planning to go themselves? No they want somebody else to do it. Ya Allah that.


I have a good idea...lets watch the A-rabs themselves go make Syria play nice. A big coalition of morally outraged righteous Moslems from all over the entire Middle East rising up as one man to bring rectitude to Assad and make the values of Islam shine, send in the legendary Lions of Islam.

OR we could sell poison gas to BOTH sides. How about that? No seriously.Obama isn't going to do jack but wave his weiner and retire to the rear. You better hope its not your rear.

But then he is that sort of hero.

Hummahumma...
Posted by: Threater Flusoper9823 || 08/29/2013 7:17 Comments || Top||

#2  Pretty sure that the result of bombing gas production and storage facilities will result in dispersion of some nasty stuff to nearby areas.

If/when this happens, will there be condemnation laid at the feet of Syrian leadership? Cmdr Zero? George Bush (yeah, OK, this one's a gimme....)?
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 08/29/2013 12:30 Comments || Top||

#3  Savy bombing victims could easily pre-arrange such damage UP.

Example
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/29/2013 15:08 Comments || Top||


Government
Lawmakers want a voice before action against Syria
Boston Globe:
As President Obama moved closer to taking military action against Syria, some leading members of Congress and foreign policy specialists called Tuesday for more debate of the options and their consequences to hold the Syrian regime accountable for its alleged use of chemical weapons.
Posted by: Pappy || 08/29/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday in a speech to the American Legion. “Those who use chemical weapons against defenseless men, women, and children should and must be held accountable.”

Joe's comments and outrage alone should give us cause for further discussion and investigation.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/29/2013 1:16 Comments || Top||

#2  Shorter Joe: "You go outside, and you point two of those chemical warheads up in the air, and fire 'em..."
Posted by: M. Murcek || 08/29/2013 8:05 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2013-08-29
  Report: 20 Injured In Another Chemical Attack In Syria
Wed 2013-08-28
  DEATH SENTENCE FOR Maj. NIDAL HASAN
Tue 2013-08-27
  Belmokhtar, MUJAO launch new jihadist group
Mon 2013-08-26
  Security forces claim seizure of 500 kgs explosives in Khyber
Sun 2013-08-25
  Hungry Boko Haram hard boyz turn cannibal
Sat 2013-08-24
  Twin blasts at Lebanese mosques kill at least 43
Fri 2013-08-23
  Musharraf charged with Benazir's murder
Thu 2013-08-22
  Two Somalis Killed, Swedish Pol Wounded in Mog Attack
Wed 2013-08-21
  Hundreds dead in Syria gas attack
Tue 2013-08-20
  Boko Haram chief shot, may have died: Nigerian army
Mon 2013-08-19
  Dozens of Egyptian policemen killed in North Sinai blast
Sun 2013-08-18
  250 Kgs of Explosives Found in Car near Naameh Municipality Building
Sat 2013-08-17
  At least 90 killed in Egypt on Friday: Witnesses
Fri 2013-08-16
  At Least 578 People Killed in Egypt Festivities
Thu 2013-08-15
  Car Boom in Hezbi Stronghold Kills 14


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