U.S. To Syria: One Week To Turn In Chemical Weapons

Of course the entire world knows that this will not happen. Therefore one must assume that an attack will take place under this unworkable premise? Or is this yet another "red line" that will be ignored? Only time will tell:

Syria Crisis Ultimatum: Kerry Tells Assad Turn In Chemical Weapons Within One Week

US secretary of state John Kerry has given an ultimatum to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to avoid a military strike by turning over his entire chemical weapons arsenal to the international community within the next week.

At a joint press conference with UK foreign secretary William Hague, Kerry said that America was not going to war but would launch an "unbelievably small and limited effort" to punish the Assad regime for the 21 August chemical weapons attack in Ghouta and to deter it from doing it again.

"If you want to send Assad a congratulatory message, you would support non-intervention," he said although he was sympathetic to fears of the American public who do not want to see troops coming home in body bags.

"But that's not what we are talking about," he stressed. "Military effort will be targeted and short-term."

Kerry added that the only thing Assad's government could do to stop an attack was to turn over all his chemical weapons to the international community within the next week.

Assad Could Avert Attack By Giving Up Chemical Arms, Kerry Says

Syrian President Bashar Assad could resolve the crisis surrounding a chemical weapons attack simply by turning over “every single bit” of his weapons stock to the international community within a week, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday.

But Kerry, holding a news conference in London with British counterpart William Hague on Monday, said he thinks Assad “isn’t about to do that.”

Syria Warplanes Test British Defenses In Cyprus

RAF Typhoon fighters won a mid-air showdown with two Syrian warplanes heading towards Britain’s main base in Cyprus, the Sunday Peoplereports.

The dramatic confrontation came after President Bashar Al-Assad’s air chiefs sent two Russian-made Sukhoi Su-24s to probe British air defenses, the report said.

The Syrian bombers refused to respond to repeated attempts by the control tower at the UK’s Akrotiri air base to contact them.

RAF pilots flying the advanced combat jet were scrambled before the Sukhois could enter our 14-mile air exclusion zone.

The Typhoons – which can scream from runway standstill to seven miles high in 90 seconds – soared into the sky to make visual contact with the Syrian pilots, reported the Sunday People, which added that the moment the Syrians spotted the British planes on their radar they high-tailed for home.

If the bombers had pressed on into the British exclusion zone they would have been shot down, military experts told the newspaper.

China Sending Warship To Syrian Coast

We spend a lot of time debating the domestic ramifications of President Obama’s handling – to use the word loosely – of the situation in Syria, ranging from political fallout to impacts on upcoming elections. But it’s a big world out there and other countries have taken a keen interest in the subject. You can now bump up the level of engagement that China has in this mess, as they have dispatched a warship of their own to the party.

According to the Russian news outlet Telegrafist.org, the People’s Liberation Army dispatched the Jinggangshan amphibious dock landing ship and the vessel was seen passing through the Red Sea towards the Suez Canal, the waterway in Egypt that leads to the Mediterranean Sea and waters off the coast of Israel, Lebanon and Syria.

The 689-foot-long warship can carry 1,000 soldiers, helicopters, armored fighting vehicles, boats and landing craft, a report in the China Daily said.

The vessel is the second Type 071 dock landing ship built by Shanghai’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding.

In addition to the troop and chopper carrying capabilities, the ship has a number of conventional guns. This comes on the heels of news that Russia already dispatched ships to the region this week, so it’s starting to get a little crowded out there. I was watching Fox and Friends this morning – where I first saw the story – and there were some probablyhyperbolic comparisons being made to 1914, but it does make one wonder. Over the past two decades, when the United States has decided to launch any sort of air strikes from mobile / naval platforms, it was just taken as a given that we could do it. And our targets generally don’t have much in the way of sea power to challenge elements of the most powerful navy on the planet. But the Russians and the Chinese have considerable forces as well.

This leaves two potential areas for trouble. 

What if the Russians and / or the Chinese decided to respond to a strike by us with a military option? They’ve got the resources in place – though it still sounds unlikely in the extreme – so Obama has to be taking that into account. The other problem for the President, though, seems to come from the much more likely possibility that he won’t muster any support at home and our ships turn around and leave the area without striking. How bad of an international debacle does that turn out to be when we have ships in place, the Russians and Chinese show up, and we turn tail and leave? It wouldn’t be the reality of what happened, but that’s how it could easily be spun on the international stage. The last standing superpower on the planet comes to a showdown on the ocean and walks away… it’s not a pretty picture.

Putin To Meet Iran President Rouhani In Coming Days

While the US president is spinning his Nobel Peace Prize-backed case on the national media to garner support for yet another "defensive" war of moral and ideological US aggression against Syria, his Russian counterpart is already planning the next steps in the middle east, and solidifying his anti-western alliance, whose key oil-producing member is Iran. According to RIA, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran Hassan Rouhani will meet in the near future, said the deputy head of the Russian Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov at a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Hoseynamirom Abdollahiyanom. "In the near future there will be a summit with the new President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Additionally, we now have new leadership in the Foreign Ministry," - said Bogdanov. The immediate reason for such a meeting is clear: to provide Russian support to Iran ahead of what may be a conflict that "inadvertently" drags Iran into a confrontation with Israel. Both moral and military. The bigger reason behind the meeting, however, probably has something to do with this chart...

U.S. Could Increase Scale Of Syria Strikes: Official

The Los Angeles Times had reported Sunday the Pentagon was readying more intense and longer attacks on Syria than originally planned, set to last three days.

War planners now aim to unleash a heavy barrage of missile strikes to be followed swiftly by additional attacks on targets that may have been missed or remain standing after the initial launch, the Times cited officials as saying.

Two US officers told the newspaper that the White House asked for an expanded target list to include "many more" than the initial list of around 50 targets.

The move is part of an effort to obtain additional firepower to damage Assad's dispersed forces. The top US military officer, General Martin Dempsey, told lawmakers last week there would be an "initial" set of targets and then a secondary list of targets.

Dempsey suggested American forces would be able to shift strike plans even as the Syrian regime attempts to disperse equipment.

Pentagon planners are now considering using Air Force bombers, as well as five USmissile destroyers currently patrolling the eastern Mediterranean Sea, to launch cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles from far out of range of Syrian air defenses, according to the newspaper report.

The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group with one cruiser and three destroyers positioned in the Read Sea can also fire cruise missiles at Syria.

Syrian Village Is 'Liberated' By Rebels...Who Then Forced Christians To Convert To Islam

Terrified Christians claim Syrian rebels ordered them to convert to Islam on pain of death when they ‘liberated’ their ancient village.

Opposition forces, including fighters linked to Al Qaeda, gained temporary control of the Christian village of Maaloula after fighting with regime forces.

The reports have reignited fears about western support for the rebel groups, which are increasingly being infiltrated by Islamic extremists.

One Maaloula resident said the rebels, many of whom had beards and shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is great), attacked Christian homes and churches shortly after moving into the village. 

‘They shot and killed people. I heard gunshots and then I saw three bodies lying in the middle of a street in the old quarters of the village. Where is President Obama to see what has befallen us?’

Another Christian resident said: ‘I saw the militants grabbing five villagers and threatening them and saying, “Either you convert to Islam, or you will be beheaded”.’

Another said one church had been torched, and gunmen stormed into two other churches and robbed them.

The beautiful mountain village, 25 miles from Damascus, is one of the few places in the world where residents still use the ancient language of Aramaic, which was spoken by Jesus and his disciples.

Also see: 

Peri: Iran, Not Syria Is Israel's Biggest Threat

Israel To Get Advanced Warning On Syria Strike Official Says

U.S. Admits No Imminent Threat From Syria, No Clear Evidence Assad Ordered Chemical Weapons Attack

Assad Did Not Order Syria Chemical Weapons Attack Says German Press

Crisis In Syria: Live Updates

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