Saturday, July 14, 2012

Evening Update: What IS Syria Planning For Their Chemical Weapons?

There seems to be a lot of ambiguity around what Syria has planned for their chemical weapons now that some of them are being transported from storage.


Former Mossad chief Danny Yatom said on Thursday that Israel is preparing for the possibility of military action in Syria, in case its chemical weapons were to end up in the hands of Hizbullah or other terrorist organizations in the region.

Yatom spoke to the British Sky News, which reported that Israel is deeply concerned that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad may deliberately give Hizbullah chemical weapons or that they could end up in the hands of other terror groups

In either case, this could lead to a regional war, Yatom told the network.

“The conventional wisdom should be that we cannot exclude a non-conventional attack on Israel,” he said. “We would have to pre-empt in order to prevent it. We need to be prepared to launch even military attacks... and military attacks mean maybe a deterioration to war.”

Investigations by Sky News have identified four sites where the agents are produced: Hama, Latakia, Al Safira, near Aleppo and at the Centre D'Etude et Recherche Scientifique laboratories in Damascus.

Storage sites have also been found at Khan abu Shamat, Furqlus, Hama, Masyaf, Palmyra, the report said.

Al Qaeda-related groups are known to be operating inside Syria, and its leadership has frequently extolled members or followers to try to get hold of chemical weapons.

A top IDF officer said recently that Israel is “in preparations for the possibility of warand in the midst of deployment with the situation in Syria in mind.”

Golan added, “Syria has weapons of mass destruction along with a very heavy arsenal of weapons, including surface-to-ground missiles and chemical weapons. The fact that Syria is a storehouse of weapons which fuels terrorists in the region is very unsettling.”

“Al-Qaeda related factors that are active there now and working against the regime may operate against us over time,” he said. “The Syrian threat to Israel requires attention. It will not happen tomorrow morning, but it can occur within a few months.”


As the already unthinkable pace of slaughter in Syria accelerates further, Western military sources warned Saturday, July 14, that not only Israel, but additional strategic targets in Middle East lands deemed enemies by Bashar Assad should prepare for him to launch surface-to-surface missile attacks. The assaults would start out with conventional warheads, but as the regime continued to be hammered, the beleaguered ruler might well arm the next round of missiles from his huge stockpile of mustard gas - not to mention sarin nerve poison and cyanide.

Western intelligence sources say Assad has a list of targets ready to go. Analyzing the Syrian war game taking place last week, they calculated that Wednesday and Thursday, July 11 and 12, the Syrian army practiced shooting missiles at strategic centers in Israel, Turkey and Jordan.

But while most Western officials now confirm that Assad has moved his WMD warheads and shells out of storage, they are already divided on what it means. Some US officials are soft-pedaling the menace, offering the theory that the Syrian ruler is only safeguarding his unconventional weapons from falling into rebel – or what he calls “terrorist” – hands.

Other Western intelligence watchers, especially in Britain, believe he is preparing a campaign of ethnic cleansing at centers of revolt and report that chemical weapons have already been transferred to Homs, Latakia and Aleppo for operational use.

That is one game-changing predicament facing the West.

It would quickly assume a regional dimension if Turkey, Israel and Jordan were to come under Syrian missile assault.


5 comments:

James N Nashville said...

Simply staggering Scott! Great post. Scott can you remember a time when so many former top brass in IDF and Mossad have been so willing to speak in public about imminent threats. I think the most compelling thing about these statements is that Israel seems to be speaking with one voice now. It' s remarkable and comforting to see how a nation can pull together when faced with evil. In peaceful times every nation living in freedom tends to take for granted that evil is always at work undermining their very existence. Very soon the liar, the great deceiver, the most horrible of all creation will be dealt with and then paradise forever.

LORD COME NOW IN YOUR HOLY NAME!!!!!!!! AMEN

Scott said...

James,

What can I add to what you said ? Nothing! I agree with every word - especially the ones in caps :)

Anonymous said...

There is an article from Asharq Alawsat from 13/7, titled:
"Free Syrian Army Preparing For "Final Battle" For Damsacus". This explains the movement of weapons.
Again, am on cell phone. Google the title. Its going down soon!

Anonymous said...

Antakya, Asharq Al-Awsat –

The Free Syrian Army [FSA] morale has never been higher, for despite the difficult circumstances that its members are facing at home and abroad, the group’s military achievements over the last week have lifted its spirits to the point that many are predicting that victory is just around the corner.

The FSA camp is located on the Turkish side of the border, and is currently in a state of high alert as everybody monitors the reports of the battle staking place in Syria between the regime’s forces and the FSA. The FSA officers are unconcerned with the harsh winter conditions that surround them, where the temperate falls below zero at night, as all their focus is on overthrowing the al-Assad regime.

more at:

http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?id=28311

Anonymous said...

Sorry!!! Wrong article!!!

HERE is the correct one:

Free Syrian Army preparing for “final battle” for Damascus

13/07/2012
By Caroline Akoum



Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat – In light of the noticeable development in the Free Syrian Army [FSA]’s military operations, not to mention the escalated pace of defections from the regular army’s forces, the FSA has announced that it is gearing up to take the fight to the al-Assad regime in Damascus. Speaking exclusively to Asharq Al-Awsat, FSA commander Colonel Riad al-Asaad revealed that “preparations for the battle of Damascus are underway and are in full swing, particularly as this operation – which will be the final and decisive confrontation with the regime – requires special preparations and arrangements”. He added “this has led to the battle being postponed so far; however once it starts it will be resolved quickly, within a matter of weeks.”
The FSA commander also stressed that “with regards to today, you could say that the situation has changed. We are now able to take decisions at the right time, after the FSA seized weapons at depots affiliated to the regime, in addition to those present in the border regions.” However al-Asaad denied that the FSA had been given surface-to-air missiles enabling them to bring down regime helicopters.

more at:

http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=30316