Saturday, August 24, 2013

Syrian Official Warns: U.S. Attack Would Spark 'Ball Of Fire' In 'Whole Middle East'





It looks like Syria is just about to ignite: 






The Syrian government warned the United States not to launch any military action against Damascus over an alleged chemical attack, saying such a move would set the Middle East ablaze.
“The basic repercussion would be a ball of fire that would burn not only Syria but the whole Middle East,” said Syria’s Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi in an interview with Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen TV, dismissing the likelihood of American military intervention. “An attack on Syria would be no easy trip.”
The Syrian government also accused rebels of using chemical weapons Saturday. The accusations by the regime of President Bashar Assad against opposition forces came as an international aid group said it has tallied 355 deaths from a purported chemical weapons attack on Wednesday in a suburb of the Syrian capital known as Ghouta.

Syria is intertwined in alliances with Iran, Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas and Palestinian militant groups. The country also borders its longtime foe and U.S. ally Israel, making the fallout from military action unpredictable.
Violence in Syria has already spilled over the past year to Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Battle-hardened Hezbollah fighters have joined the combat alongside Assad’s forces.







Israel believes that the United States will respond militarily to Syria’s alleged use of chemical weapons, according to unnamed military sources quoted by the Hebrew website Ynet on Saturday night.

When proof surfaces that the Assad regime used chemical weapons last Wednesday, “the US will act even in the event that the UN Security Council does not take a decision to that effect,” the report claimed, citing estimations by Israeli officials.


It said the Syria crisis was discussed by the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, in a phone conversation with his Israeli counterpart, Chief of the IDF General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, on Friday.

The assessment in Jerusalem is that “Washington is seriously considering a limited yet effective attack that will make it clear to the regime in Damascus that the international community will not tolerate the use of weapons of mass destruction against Syrian civilians or any other elements,” the report said.
Israel’s Channel 2 news said the likelihood was of a limited “punitive attack,” to deter the regime from further chemical weapons use.

Israel is said to be preparing for the possibility that, in response to an American attack, Syria might retaliate against targets in Israel. Syria is reported to have an arsenal of at least 100,000 missiles, some of which can target any areas in Israel.








David Cameron and Barack Obama moved the west closer to military intervention in Syria on Saturday as they agreed that last week's alleged chemical weapon attacks by the Assad regime had taken the crisis into a new phase that merited a "serious response".
In a phone call that lasted 40 minutes, the two leaders are understood to have concluded that the regime of Bashar al-Assad was almost certainly responsible for the assault that is believed to have killed as many as 1,400 people in Damascus in the middle of last week. Cameron was speaking from his holiday in Cornwall.
The prime minister and US president said time was running out for Assad to allow UN weapons inspectors into the areas where the attack took place. Government sources said the two leaders agreed that all options should be kept open, both to end the suffering of the Syrian people and to make clear that the west could not stand by as chemical weapons were used on innocent civilians.
A spokesman for No 10 said: "The prime minister and President Obama are both gravely concerned by the attack that took place in Damascus on Wednesday and the increasing signs that this was a significant chemical weapons attack carried out by the Syrian regime against its own people. The UN security council has called for immediate access for UN investigators on the ground in Damascus. The fact that President Assad has failed to co-operate with the UN suggests that the regime has something to hide.





9 comments:

Stephen said...

"Washington is seriously considering a limited yet effective attack "

this is a joke....

limited ??

is this serious ??

how can YOU LIMIT that ??

there are two sides here.

Arabs (Islam) vs USA

there will be NO limits here.

The M E will explode in hostilities

if even ONE cruise missile gets used.

Stephen >>>>>>>>>>

Stephen said...

LET US ALL HOPE THE RAPTURE COMES SOON.

WW3 is about to begin......

no joke.....

Stephen >>>>>>>>>>>>>

ChristineInCleveland said...

I can't help but wonder if we are finally seeing the build up to Isaiah 17 about to unfold before our eyes...? So much happening now with those 'birth pangs' its unreal...

Maranatha!

Stephen said...

OK, 7 PM in Hawaii >>>>

Scott where are you ??

I wish u would wake up but
I know u must be sleeping...

please go to DEBKA right away.

Russia on war alert...

this is getting serious.

Stephen >>>>>>>>>>>>>

Stephen said...

really, does not matter if the
US gets involved in Syria to
try and STOP more CW attacks...

Russia and China will consider
this a VIOLATION of Syrian soil
and it WILL be described as a
provocation by US forces...

OH OH here we go >>>>>>>>

WW3

Stephen >>>>>>>>>>>


Caver said...

Yikers....might be a reasonable idea to keep the gas tank kind of topped off,a little extra cash on hand, and the Knee Mail box overflowing.

Scott said...

Stephen - I'm on it! Thanks - am covering the news for the next update - there is so much happening right now!

David said...

We will probably be striking military targets in Syria...hence the "limited" strike. You can't hit chemical munitions without spreading them or detonating them. Obama said last year that the use of chemical weapons would cross a red line. His credibility is at stake. He has no choice now. Either do what he said or be faced with the international label of being a bluffer. I would say that a response if there is to be one will be soon, so as to prevent another CW attack. Now Russia could stand down and support the limited strike on military targets..from a UN standpoint. However the big picture is that Iran is watching all the red Lines and the threatening. If nothing is done they will never be deterred. This truly is a paramount event. Because doing nothing at all is doing massive harm....

David P.

Scott said...

David - good points. Damascus is looming larger and larger by the day (speaking of chemical munitions).