Partial Israeli reserves call-up. US beefs up Qatar air base. Syria moves units into sheltered sites

[tamiflyer]

Partial Israeli reserves call-up. US beefs up Qatar air base. Syria moves units into sheltered sites

 

 

 

US B-1 strategic bombers

 

Ahead of the US strike on Syria, the Israeli security cabinet in special session Wednesday, Aug. 28, ordered the partial mobilization of select, qualitative IDF reserve forces: Rocket, Air Force, missile interception, Home Defense command and intelligence units. Anti-missile Arrow, Patriot and Iron Dome systems were spread out more widely than ever before across the country. US and Syria wound up last military preparations for the US strike. Barring last-minute hold-ups, debkafile’s military sources report the American operation is scheduled to start Friday night, early Saturday Aug. 30-31.
In the past 24 hours, the US Air Force finished a major buildup at the big US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. B-1B bombers and F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets were brought over from other US Mid East air facilities on the Omani island of Masirah and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

These squadrons were not assigned to the US military strike against Syria, say our military sources, but will stand ready to move in should unforeseen complications in the course of the US missile assault on Syria call for the introduction of extra assets from outside.

Israeli officials and spokesmen continued to insist Wednesday on low expectations of a Syrian counter-offensive against their country. Nevertheless, the new US air force reinforcements in Qatar will stand ready to rush to the aid of US allies - Israel, Jordan and Turkey - in the event of their coming under Syrian Scud attack.
On the opposite side, the Syrian army Tuesday started scattering personnel, weapons and air assets to safe places to reduce their exposure to damage and losses from US assaults.

Our military sources report that personnel, tanks and artillery of the Syrian Army’s 4th and Republican Guard Divisions, which are held responsible for the Aug. 21 chemical attack on civilians, were being moved into fortified shelters built last year against potential foreign military intervention.

Syrian army command centers in Homs, Hama, Latakia and the Aleppo region were also being split up and dispersed, after a tip-off to Syrian and Russian intelligence that they would be targeted by the US strike.
Syria has also transferred its Air Force fighter planes, bombers and attack helicopters to fortified shelters which are armored against missile and air attack.
In Israel, the IDF Wednesday installed two Iron Dome missile interceptors in the northern “Valleys” region and Safed in addition to Haifa. Another Iron Dome battery was posted in the heavily populated central district.  Arrow, Patriot anti-missile missiles, as well as Iron Domes, have been deployed more widely across Israel than ever before. debkafile’s military sources report that Israel’s Arrow and Patriot interceptors are linked to the US missile shield with which their operation is synchronized.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel was ready for any scenario. Although it takes no part in the Syrian civil war crisis, Israel would not hesitate to fight back for any attempted attacks – and would do so forcefully.

Wednesday morning, the machinery for distributing gas masks to the population broke down under the pressure of demands to distribution centers across the country. The Homeland Ministry’s website crashed. Former Interior Minister Ellie Yishay complained of a shortage of protective masks due to budget cuts. He said there are only enough to supply 40 percent of the population.

 

http://debka.com/article/23228/-Partial-Israeli-reserves-call-up-US-beefs-up-Qatar-air-base-Syria-moves-units-into-sheltered-sites

 

 

 

 

I don't know why the article did not post.  Here is is. 

 

 

 

Ahead of the US strike on Syria, the Israeli security cabinet in special session Wednesday, Aug. 28, ordered the partial mobilization of select, qualitative IDF reserve forces: Rocket, Air Force, missile interception, Home Defense command and intelligence units. Anti-missile Arrow, Patriot and Iron Dome systems were spread out more widely than ever before across the country. US and Syria wound up last military preparations for the US strike. Barring last-minute hold-ups, debkafile’s military sources report the American operation is scheduled to start Friday night, early Saturday Aug. 30-31.
In the past 24 hours, the US Air Force finished a major buildup at the big US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. B-1B bombers and F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets were brought over from other US Mid East air facilities on the Omani island of Masirah and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

These squadrons were not assigned to the US military strike against Syria, say our military sources, but will stand ready to move in should unforeseen complications in the course of the US missile assault on Syria call for the introduction of extra assets from outside.

Israeli officials and spokesmen continued to insist Wednesday on low expectations of a Syrian counter-offensive against their country. Nevertheless, the new US air force reinforcements in Qatar will stand ready to rush to the aid of US allies - Israel, Jordan and Turkey - in the event of their coming under Syrian Scud attack.
On the opposite side, the Syrian army Tuesday started scattering personnel, weapons and air assets to safe places to reduce their exposure to damage and losses from US assaults.

Our military sources report that personnel, tanks and artillery of the Syrian Army’s 4th and Republican Guard Divisions, which are held responsible for the Aug. 21 chemical attack on civilians, were being moved into fortified shelters built last year against potential foreign military intervention.

Syrian army command centers in Homs, Hama, Latakia and the Aleppo region were also being split up and dispersed, after a tip-off to Syrian and Russian intelligence that they would be targeted by the US strike.
Syria has also transferred its Air Force fighter planes, bombers and attack helicopters to fortified shelters which are armored against missile and air attack.
In Israel, the IDF Wednesday installed two Iron Dome missile interceptors in the northern “Valleys” region and Safed in addition to Haifa. Another Iron Dome battery was posted in the heavily populated central district.  Arrow, Patriot anti-missile missiles, as well as Iron Domes, have been deployed more widely across Israel than ever before. debkafile’s military sources report that Israel’s Arrow and Patriot interceptors are linked to the US missile shield with which their operation is synchronized.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel was ready for any scenario. Although it takes no part in the Syrian civil war crisis, Israel would not hesitate to fight back for any attempted attacks – and would do so forcefully.

Wednesday morning, the machinery for distributing gas masks to the population broke down under the pressure of demands to distribution centers across the country. The Homeland Ministry’s website crashed. Former Interior Minister Ellie Yishay complained of a shortage of protective masks due to budget cuts. He said there are only enough to supply 40 percent of the population.

Turkish army on war alert

DEBKAfile August 28, 2013, 7:17 PM (GMT+02:00)

“We are now at a more alert position ... Turkey will take whatever measures necessary within the framework of its own strategic interests," Foreign Minister Davutoglu told reporters Wednesday. "The Turkish armed forces have the mandate to take every measure against any security threat from Syria or elsewhere ... and retaliate within the rules of engagement." Turkey has the longest border with Syria of any of the wartorn nation's neighbors.

 

http://debka.com/newsupdatepopup/5506/

Australia backs action against Syria, with or without UN

DEBKAfile August 28, 2013, 8:39 AM (GMT+02:00)

Foreign Minister Bob Carr said if it was proven that the Syrian regime had used chemical weapons, the world had a mandate to respond, even if the UN failed to agree on such action. Austalia is due to take over the rotating Security Council chair next Sunday,

 

http://debka.com/newsupdatepopup/5495/

Israel’s security cabinet in special session

DEBKAfile August 28, 2013, 12:49 PM (GMT+02:00)

The security cabinet was called into special session Wednesday to examine possible repercussions of US military intervention in Syria. Among those repercussions was a possible decision by President Bashar Assad to hit back at Israel for the US attack. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel was ready for any scenario. Although uninvolved in the Syrian civil war, Israel would not hesitate to fight back at any attempted attacks – and would do so forcefully. 

 

 

http://debka.com/newsupdatepopup/5501/

Russia says UK’s draft UN resolution on Syria is premature

DEBKAfile August 28, 2013, 9:13 PM (GMT+02:00)

A British draft UN resolution mandating military force against Syria failed to attain agreement Wednesday among the Security Council’s five permanent members. The Russian ambassador called it premature. If the measure were put to the vote at this time, it would almost certainly be blocked by the Russian and Chinese vetoes which are standard for any motions against Syria. The draft was tabled by the UK as momentum built up among Western allies for a military strike to punish Syria for using chemical weapons

 

 

http://debka.com/newsupdatepopup/5508/

Edited August 28, 2013 by tamiflyer

[tamiflyer]

When to strike: Syria timing is complex for Obama

 

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Preparations for a highly anticipated strike on Syria could lead to an awkward decision on timing.

Few doubt that President Barack Obama is preparing for a U.S.-led military action to retaliate for what the U.S. and its allies say was a deadly chemical weapons attack perpetrated by the Syrian government. But there are few good options for when to attack.

Wednesday, for example, would make for an uncomfortable juxtaposition of themes: On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Obama pays tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. on the 50th anniversary of the nonviolent leader's "I Have a Dream" speech.

Thursday is also problematic. That's when British Prime Minister David Cameron is set to convene an emergency meeting of Parliament, where lawmakers are expected to vote on a motion clearing the way for Britain to respond to the alleged chemical weapons attack.

Days later, on Tuesday, Obama embarks on an overseas trip that will take him away from the White House for most of the week.

Would Obama really want to be running a military operation from Sweden? Or from Russia, which vigorously opposes action against Syria?

Compounding the pressure, some lawmakers and allies are urging Obama to proceed slowly and seek U.N. Security Council approval, while others are imploring the president to act quickly and decisively. After all, Obama's response earlier this year after the U.S. first concluded that Syrian President Bashar Assad had used chemical weapons was criticized as too little, too late.

"The longer you wait, the less meaningful it becomes," said Barry Pavel, a former top national security official in the George W. Bush and Obama administrations.

Lawmakers from both political parties have called on Obama to consult Congress before taking action — a step the White House says is now underway. Obama also is seeking buy-in from Western allies such as Britain and France, and from regional organizations like the 22-member Arab League, which has signaled its interest in justice for victims of the alleged chemical weapons attacks and blamed the Syrian regime.

But those consultations, too, limit the haste with which the U.S. can act without going it alone.

Britain added another wrinkle to the deliberations Wednesday by saying it would seek a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing steps to protect Syrian civilians, although Britain's foreign secretary said the world has a responsibility to act even if the resolution fails; Russia is all but certain to veto it.

Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged against immediate military action, saying U.N. inspectors need four more days to complete their work before evidence can be analyzed and then presented to the Security Council.

Although Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says the U.S. military is in position to strike as soon as Obama gives the order, the administration has yet to release a promised intelligence report formally linking Assad to the attack. That report would provide a key rationale and underpinning for the administration's assertion that a game-changing response was warranted.

The report could be released as early as Wednesday, the same day as Obama's speech marking the anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington.

A successful vote Thursday in Britain's Parliament would mark the start of short window that national security experts say could be a less awkward time for Obama to act. But a senior administration official said once Obama decides on what action to take, he won't delay the decision because of outside factors or competing events.

Obama, on Tuesday, will travel to Stockholm for his first visit as president to Sweden. The Northern European nation has claimed a position of neutrality in international conflicts for about 200 years.

Two days later, he heads to St. Petersburg, Russia, for the Group of 20 economic summit with leading foreign counterparts. A major conference intended to focus on wonky issues like tax evasion and monetary policy could easily be subsumed by a military incursion in a Mideast hot spot embroiling the U.S. and potentially other G-20 nations.

What's more, Russia, the host of the summit, is staunchly backing Assad and would be among the most vocal opponents of a military strike in Syria. An American-led attack on Assad's forces while world leaders meet in Russia would be a major embarrassment for the Kremlin, and would deliver yet another blow to shaky relations between Russia and the U.S., already at a low point since the recent U.S. decision to cancel a bilateral meeting between Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"The president has to be prepared for a lot of tension and a high degree of awkwardness," said Nikolas Gvosdev, a national security professor at the U.S. Naval War College.

Despite the messy optics, Obama's foreign travel next week will not be a factor in his decision about when to act, said the administration official, who wasn't authorized to discuss internal deliberations publicly and requested anonymity. The main factor in when an action starts will be how long it takes to get it off the ground once Obama makes the call. An increase in foreign assistance, for example, would take a while to ramp up, while a military action could be ordered right away.

There's precedent for Obama to take military action while outside the U.S. It was in Brazil in 2011 when Obama, on a five-day Latin America swing, authorized limited military action against Libya to counter Moammar Gadhafi's assault on his own people.

U.S. officials say a response most likely would involve sea-launched cruise missile attacks on Syrian military targets. Logistical and military considerations could also play a role in determining when the U.S. and others take action. Military experts and U.S. officials said strikes probably would come during the night, a strategy that could help minimize civilian casualties.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/strike-syria-timing-complex-obama-165456644.html

 

 

 

 

[tamiflyer]

This so called president is stirring the pot and does not care who gets hurt.  Please read the below with an open mind and think of the posibilities of harm the below article can bring worldwide.  IMMHO, he needs to go.  He is the type that throws the rock and says "I did not do it" and blame it on the guy next to him.  He is done.  IMMHO. 

 

 

Syria says 'terrorists' will strike Europe with chemical weapons

 

 

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Syria's deputy foreign minister said on Wednesday that the United States, Britain and France helped "terrorists" use chemical weapons in Syria, and that the same groups would soon use them against Europe.

Speaking to reporters outside the Four Seasons hotel in Damascus, Faisal Maqdad said he had presented U.N. chemical weapons inspectors with evidence that "armed terrorist groups" had used sarin gas in all the sites of alleged attacks.

"We repeat that the terrorist groups are the ones that used (chemical weapons) with the help of the United States, the United Kingdom and France, and this has to stop," he said. "This means these chemical weapons will soon be used by the same groups against the people of Europe," he added.

 

 

http://news.yahoo.com/syria-says-terrorists-strike-europe-chemical-weapons-125634470.html

 

 

 

 

[tamiflyer]

Syria Strike Plans Advance as Allies Seek support to Act

 

 

The U.S. and the U.K. today said they are prepared to take military action against Syria without authorization from the United Nations Security Council.

 

After Russia objected to a UN resolution offered by the U.K. authorizing action to protect civilians, a State Department spokeswoman said the U.S. will take “appropriate” action without the international body’s approval.

“We do not believe the Syrian regime should be able to hide behind the fact that the Russians continue to block action” at the UN, Marie Harf told reporters today.

“By far the best thing would be if the United Nations could be united, unlikely as that seems in the face of the vetoes from Russia and China that we’ve had in the past,” U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague told reporters in London. “But we have to try to do that. We’re clear that if there isn’t agreement at the United Nations, then we and other nations still have a responsibility on chemical weapons.”

The U.S. and its NATO allies began presenting their justification for military action against Syria as they advanced plans for launching strikes and prepared evidence that the Syrian government used chemical weapons on its own people.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, said after a meeting of allies today in Brussels that evidence from a “wide variety of sources” implicates the Syrian government in the Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack that killed as many as 1,300 Syrians in eastern suburbs of Damascus, the capital.

International Threat

Using language that provides a basis for collective military action, he said, “We consider the use of chemical weapons as a threat to international peace and security.”

President Barack Obama and allied leaders are working to define the objectives of a military strike on Syria, according to a U.S. official. Any use of force won’t be limited to a one-day operation, said the official, who asked not to be identified discussing war-planning efforts.

The U.S. is concerned that letting the Syrian government go unpunished would send a signal to other countries, including North Korea, that have large inventories of chemical weapons, as well as making it likely that the Assad government will attack civilians with such weapons again, according to the U.S. official.

While the U.S. has warships and submarines carrying Tomahawk cruise missiles ready for action in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, any military move may still be days away, in part because a team of UN weapons inspectors needs at least two more days to complete its report.

Syrian Request

British Prime Minister David Cameron today acceded to Labour Party leader Ed Miliband’s demand that the inspectors be allowed to complete their report before Parliament begins a debate on whether to authorize military action against Syria.

At the UN today, Syrian ambassador Bashar Jaafari asked Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to extend the inspectors’ investigation to include government allegations that rebel groups have used chemical weapons against Syrian troops on three occasions this month.

Amid the diplomatic dueling, the Obama administration is consulting with NATO allies including the U.K., France, Germany, and Turkey, as well as Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, to determine which countries would participate in a military operation, the official said.

The alleged chemical weapons attack has fed calls for deeper global involvement in the 2 1/2-year Syrian civil war, with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal calling for a “decisive and serious international stance,” the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported today.

Other Options

Among the options being explored are how to deter and degrade Syria’s chemical-weapons capability and defeat the Assad government’s defense capabilities, another U.S. official said, also speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal policy deliberations.

Separate discussions are being held on whether, when and how to accelerate and expand military and intelligence assistance to mainstream Syrian rebels groups in an effort to prevent extremist groups affiliated with al-Qaeda from reaping the benefits of Western attacks on the Assad regime, said a third U.S. official who requested anonymity to discuss possible covert action programs.

The prospect of a military confrontation in the Middle East, a region that produces 35 percent of the world’s oil, has rumbled through markets. Stock markets in the region slumped for a second day today as oil reached a two-year high.

Oil Rising

West Texas Intermediate oil climbed 0.8 percent to $109.89 a barrel as of 2:50 p.m. in New York after rising as much as 3 percent to $112.24. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.5 percent after the gauge sank 1.6 percent yesterday.

To bolster domestic and foreign support for military action, the Obama administration is working on declassifying intelligence to provide evidence that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces are responsible for the chemical attack.

That information will be viewed skeptically after flawed intelligence about Saddam Hussein’s supposed stockpile of weapons of mass destruction was used to justify the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, according to Anthony Cordesman, a military analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

The“systematic misuse of intelligence by policy makers before and after” the invasion of Iraq “did much to discredit the U.S. and its allies, to destroy trust in intelligence reports that cannot reveal every source and method, and in the motives of U.S. officials,” Cordesman said in a report posted today on the CSIS website.

Damaged Credibility

Any limits and flaws in the intelligence “will fuel every anti-American conspiracy theory in the region,” he said.

The confrontation with Syria will be at the forefront when Obama, Cameron and French President Francois Hollande join other leaders of the Group of 20 nations next week, hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Fyodor Lukyanov, the editor of Russia in Global Affairs, a Moscow-based foreign affairs magazine, said Putin’s government may boost aid to Assad’s regime in response to a strike against Syria. The differences with the West may freeze relations for some time.

“The situation you have today will remain and will get worse,” Lukyanov said in a telephone interview. If the U.S., U.K. and France lead military action against Syria, for Putin “the long-term the desire not to deal with the West will be very strong.”

Chinese Opposition

China signaled its opposition. The People’s Daily newspaper, published by the ruling Communist Party, carried an editorial today saying that some countries had passed a “verdict” on Syria before all facts were in and that action should only be taken in response to reliable investigations.

Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN and Arab League special envoy to Syria, told a news conference in Geneva today that he’s waiting to see what evidence is produced that Assad’s regime used chemical arms and that any action must have UN sanction.

“International law is clear,” Brahimi said. “It says military action must be taken after a decision by the Security Council.”

UN chemical inspectors today visited the site of alleged attacks in the Ghouta area, UN Secretary-General Ban said at a news conference in The Hague.

Members of the U.S. Congress, who don’t return from recess until Sept. 9, have been pressing Obama to seek their approval for any action by U.S. forces. Some, such as Representative Adam Smith of Washington, warned against getting dragged into the Syrian civil war.

Congressional Doubts

“Simply lashing out with military force under the banner of ‘doing something’ will not secure our interests in Syria,” Smith, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement.

Cameron also is encountering resistance. Opposition leader Ed Miliband offered tentative support for possible attacks after meeting Cameron yesterday, while saying his Labour Party won’t vote for military action over Syria without UN involvement.

If Labour opposes military action, Cameron may struggle to win approval from the House of Commons, as some of his own Conservative lawmakers have publicly expressed reluctance to back such a move.

As in the U.S., polls in Britain show a majority of the public opposes further involvement in the Syrian conflict.

Israel’s Defenses

Israel’s military bolstered defenses near the northern border, deploying a second Iron Dome missile defense system outside the city of Haifa and putting an Arrow missile defense battery on alert for medium-range weapons, the Ynet news site reported, without saying where it got the information.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said a strike on Syria would be a “disaster for the region,” according to the state-run Iranian Students News Agency. “This kindling of fire is like a spark in a room stocked with explosives because the consequences of it are unknown,” he was quoted as saying today in a meeting with officials.

 

 

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/syria-strike-plans-advance-as-allies-seek-support-to-act.html

 

 

[sxsess]

This country is being run by totally incompetent liberal ideologs. People were screaming about Bush and they say nothing about this freakin moron obummer. Nothing makes sense anymore!

[tamiflyer]

This so called president is stirring the pot and does not care who gets hurt.  Please read the below with an open mind and think of the posibilities of harm the below article can bring worldwide.  IMMHO, he needs to go.  He is the type that throws the rock and says "I did not do it" and blame it on the guy next to him.  He is done.  IMMHO. 

 

 

Syria says 'terrorists' will strike Europe with chemical weapons

 

 

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Syria's deputy foreign minister said on Wednesday that the United States, Britain and France helped "terrorists" use chemical weapons in Syria, and that the same groups would soon use them against Europe.

Speaking to reporters outside the Four Seasons hotel in Damascus, Faisal Maqdad said he had presented U.N. chemical weapons inspectors with evidence that "armed terrorist groups" had used sarin gas in all the sites of alleged attacks.

"We repeat that the terrorist groups are the ones that used (chemical weapons) with the help of the United States, the United Kingdom and France, and this has to stop," he said. "This means these chemical weapons will soon be used by the same groups against the people of Europe," he added.

 

 

http://news.yahoo.com/syria-says-terrorists-strike-europe-chemical-weapons-125634470.html

By president I meant the Syrian President.  Sorry for the confusion. 

[tamiflyer]

US prepares to bypass UN on Syria response

Published August 28, 2013

FoxNews.com

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The State Department made clear Wednesday that the Obama administration plans to bypass the United Nations Security Council as it prepares for a possible strike on Syria, after having failed to win support from Russia. 

In blunt terms, department spokeswoman Marie Harf said last-ditch efforts to win support for an anti-Assad resolution at the U.N. were unsuccessful, and the U.S. would proceed anyway. 

"We see no avenue forward given continued Russian opposition to any meaningful council action on Syria," she said. "Therefore, the United States will continue its consultations and will take appropriate actions to respond in the days ahead." 

Earlier in the day, the U.S. and its allies tried to advance a resolution from Great Britain condemning the alleged chemical attack last week in Syria, and authorizing "necessary measures to protect civilians." The Russian delegation, traditional supporters of the Assad government, immediately complained about the resolution during the discussions at U.N. headquarters in New York. 

Harf said the U.N. Security Council would not be proceeding with a vote. 

Launching a military strike without U.N. authorization would not be without precedent -- the U.S. acted unilaterally during the 1983 invasion of Grenada, the 1989 invasion of Panama, and missile strikes on Sudan and Afghanistan in 1998. 

But in this case, the U.N.'s special envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, is urging the U.S. to seek and obtain Security Council approval. 

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also urged the U.S. and its allies to wait until U.N. inspectors currently in Syria finish their work investigating last week's attack. 

Harf and other U.S. officials have argued that the U.S. is obligated to respond, given the Assad regime's alleged breach of international standards on chemical weapons, in a grisly attack that reportedly killed hundreds. The images from that attack, coupled with other evidence, led Secretary of State John Kerry to declare earlier this week that the use of the weapons was "undeniable." 

"It's clear Syria violated international law here," Harf said. She rejected the suggestion that the U.S. was bypassing the international community, noting that top U.S. officials have been consulting all week with leaders of other nations about the situation in Syria. 

By the end of the week, the U.S. intelligence community is expected to release evidence making the case that the Assad regime used chemical weapons. British Prime Minister David Cameron is seeking a vote in Parliament on Thursday in support of responding in Syria. 

Some members of Congress are now demanding that Obama seek their approval as well -- or at least greater consultation -- before proceeding. 

Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., issued a blistering statement about the possibility that Obama would proceed with a strike without congressional authorization. 

"The President's authority as Commander-in-Chief to order a military attack on a foreign government is implicitly limited by the Constitution to repelling an attack," he said. Further, he noted that the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which has been repeatedly ignored by U.S. presidents, dictates that the president cannot send forces into hostilities for a non-retaliatory strike without a declaration of war or approval from Congress. 

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08/28/state-department-prepares-to-bypass-un-on-syria-response/#ixzz2dIjgj9rA

 

[tamiflyer]

New York Times: Syrian Electronic Army Disruption ‘Close To Being Fully Resolved’

 

 

 

 

Excerpted from Politico – Nearly 24 hours after it first went down, The New York Times website continues to suffer from the disruption caused by the Syrian Electronic Army, a pro-Assad hacking group that has targeted several media outlets in recent months.

The hack, which the Times described as “a malicious external attack,” shut down the Times website for most users early Tuesday afternoon; as of 11:15 a.m. on Wednesday, the site was inaccessible for many users. The Times has continued to publish stories on its company website, nytco.com.

Eileen Murphy, a Times spokesperson, said there was “no real update” today but said the situation was “close to being fully resolved.”"Yesterday’s disruption in service to nytimes.com was the result of an external attack on our domain name registrar, which redirected many users of nytimes.com to a bad domain address,” she wrote in an email. “The situation is close to being fully resolved and if someone is still having trouble accessing the site, it is most likely the result of their ISP (Internet service provider) not having yet restored the proper DNS records.”

The Syrian Electronic Army is made up of various hackers within and outside of Syria who support Syrian President Bashar Assad. In recent months, they have targeted The Washington Post, the Financial Times and various other media outlets. The group denies ties to the Syrian government.

 

 

http://patdollard.com/2013/08/new-york-times-syrian-electronic-army-disruption-close-to-being-fully-resolved/

 

 

[gymrat76541]

I sure wish that the USA would NOT bypass the United Nations Security Council. This could be seen as an illegal action.

 

America is already feared and hated enough. Lets not add to it.

[dog53]

Political posturing is all this is.

Barry flexing americas might.

Trying to make that bony arm of his look big next to putin.

Should have chose a different part of his anatomy (you know  them kenyans)   

Lot of huffin and puffin going on 

It depends what the banksters decide 

Like Roth says folks 

Its a rigged game 

They already know who the winner is. 

It just boils down to who`s gonna survive it

and Who is not.