Shortly after Theresa May declared that she could act in Syria without approval from Parliament, the Telegraph is reporting that the prime minister has ordered UK submarines to travel within striking range of Syria, and adds that strikes could begin as early as Thursday, which is when May will call an emergency cabinet meeting over Syria.
With the US's Truman carrier still a month away, the "coalition" will rely on UK and French ships. US air support will likely also be involved, suggesting that any attack on Syria may be based on a joint UK-French naval operation, with US air support.
Meanwhile, as reported earlier, President Bashar al-Assad has already started moving aircraft and military vehicles away from air bases that could become targets for the coalition's bombs.
Mrs May hardened her stance towards Syria as she said the UK, US and France were “rapidly reaching” a clear picture of who was responsible for last Saturday’s chemical attack on Douma, Eastern Ghouta.
Mrs May said "all the indications are that the Syrian regime was responsible", adding: "The continued use of chemical weapons cannot go unchallenged."
On Wednesday afternoon, in the US, President Trump told reporters to expect a decision Wednesday night, while Press Secretary Sarah Sanders has said "a number of options" are on the table regarding US action in Syria.
Trump has also reportedly come to the conclusion that Syria was behind the brutal gas attack in rebel-held Ghouta - and that Russia failed to guarantee that Syria's government had given up its stockpile of chemical weapons.
A source inside Whitehall purportedly told the Telegraph that May has broad support to join in US airstrikes in Syria, but that "further discussions" are needed with the US and France before a final decision about an escalation could be made. Gaining the backing of her cabinet is the last obstacle for May. The Telegraph added that whatever she decides, military actions are expected to be carried out before Monday.
May has recalled her cabinet ministers from their Easter break for an emergency meeting where she will discuss how the UK should respond.
According to the UK's Daily Telegraph newspaper, British submarines have been ordered to move within missile range of Syria, as strikes against the Assad regime are expected as early as Thursday night.
The publication reported that the order was issued by UK Prime Minister Theresa May and that she has called on her ministers to meet for an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss how Britain will respond to last weekend's chemical attack on Douma.
Sky News reports that May will soon ask her cabinet to approve the UK's participation in US- and French-led strikes against Syria's alleged chemical weapons infrastructure. Though it is expected that May will get the approval from ministers to join the action, the Telegraph suggested a discussion will be had with the US and France before the final decision is made.
Following the Saturday attack, the prime minister urged that "all the indications are that the Syrian regime was responsible" and that Syria's "continued use of chemical weapons cannot go unchallenged."
While British subs have been ordered to get closer to Syria, the Telegraph reported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is also directing aircraft and vehicles away from bases likely to be targeted.
The report follows US President Donald Trump's warning to Russia and Syria to "get ready" for a missile strike. Trump noted that the strike would involve missiles that will be "nice and new."
Amid escalating threats between Israel and Iran, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to avoid any steps that could increase instability in Syria.
Netanyahu, for his part, said Israel would continue to counter Iran’s efforts to build up its military presence in the war-torn country.
In a phone call with Netanyahu, “Putin stressed the fundamental importance of respecting the sovereignty of Syria, called for refraining from any actions that might further destabilize the situation in this country and pose a threat to its security,” the official Russian Sputnik news agency reported.
It said the call, which had been at the initiative of the Israeli prime minister, addressed “the Syrian issue… including in connection with the recent missile strikes on the T-4 airfield in Homs by the Israeli Air Force.”
The Prime Minister’s office said that Netanyahu “reiterated that Israel will not permit an Iranian military entrenchment in Syria.”
Netanyahu said Monday that Israel will hit anyone who intends to harm the Jewish state, appearing to indirectly refer to the predawn missile strike on the air base, which reportedly killed 14 people, including seven Iranians.
In line with its policy of ambiguity on attacks outside the country’s borders, Israel has refused to comment directly on the attack, despite being blamed by Russia and Syria.
On Tuesday, a top adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatened Israel. “The crimes will not remain unanswered,” Ali Akbar Velayati said during a visit to Syria, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.
Syrian President Bashar Assad was bracing Wednesday for an American strike, after President Donald Trump tweeted that the US would be launching missiles at Syria in response to a suspected chemical attack on the rebel-held town of Douma over the weekend.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that pro-government forces were evacuating major airports and military airbases.
The Syrian foreign ministry described the US threats to attack it as “reckless,” saying it would endanger international peace and security.
The statement by the foreign ministry in Damascus came as a war of words is raging between Washington and Moscow.
Activists and first responders say the attack in Douma killed more than 40 people. Both Syria and Russia deny such an attack happened.
Trump’s threats of retaliatory military action prompted a slew of Russian comments that warned that US strikes could trigger direct military clash between the two former Cold War adversaries.
Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday, vowing that “smart” missiles “will be coming.”
Russian’s foreign ministry said Wednesday that Washington was using the alleged chemical attack as a pretext to target Syria, and that the threats were hindering the government’s efforts to fight “terrorism.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia was seeking “unbiased investigation before delivering verdicts,” the Tass news agency reported.
Addressing the possibility of a US strike, he added, “I want to hope that all countries will avoid steps which essentially haven’t been sparked by anything and which may destabilize the fragile situation in the region.”
By jumping to conclusions about the alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria, Donald Trump’s war cabinet and their media cheerleaders are recklessly pushing us closer to a military confrontation between Russia and the US.
With his new national security adviser John Bolton standing behind him, US President Trump announced on Monday that “everybody” – apparently meaning Syria and Russia – “will pay a price” for the alleged chemical attack in Douma, a suburb of Damascus under the control of Jaysh al Islam insurgents, and that his generals were devising a military response. Trump has also said that he holds Russia responsible for the still unverified attack, signaling an escalation between Russia and the US, a dangerous prospect that seems to be lost on an unquestioning US media that is captivated by anti-Russia hysteria.
But as Trump rushes to punish Syria, the media is ignoring and depriving the public of some crucial details leading up to the alleged attack, details that raise serious questions about who’s responsible.
The Syrian government is in a stronger position than it has been since the war began and has absolutely nothing to gain from launching a chemical weapons attack. This alone should cause some serious skepticism, especially considering the chronology of events leading up to the alleged attack.
Sketchy sources
Despite the absence of an independent investigation to confirm a chemical attack, the western press has pushed forward with the narrative that the Syrian government and their Russian allies are 100 percent responsible, so it’s important to interrogate their sources.
The western media’s primary source on the chemical attack is the White Helmets, a rescue group heavily funded by the US and UK governments. Marketed by a top PR firm, the White Helmets openly advocate for regime change while working alongside Salafi Jihadi rebels, including groups linked to al Qaeda, in opposition areas. Some of its members have participated in atrocities on video, a fact almost entirely ignored by western media, which is enamored with the group.
Footage from the White Helmets has almost always portrayed insurgent-held areas in Syria as populated only by children and rescue workers. But the conflict isn’t a war between the Syrian government and civilians. It is a war between the Syrian government and a collection of foreign-backed Salafi-Jihadist groups, who seem to be deliberately hidden from view by the White Helmets and other affiliated organizations.
The thousands of militants that control the area are never anywhere to be seen in the footage, which demonstrates a clear agenda at play. That doesn’t mean the footage or images are necessarily fake, just that they are meant to convey a propagandistic narrative that erases the two-sided nature of the war in Syria.
Western media has unquestioningly circulated footage and images from the alleged attack in Douma that was fed to them by the White Helmets. Last year, following the chemical weapons attack in Khan Sheikhoun, Trump was inspired to bomb Syria by the White Helmets footage that was replayed over and over by the US cable news outlets. Trump is surely basing his current decision on the White Helmets footage airing 24/7 on outlets like CNN as we speak, and these outlets know this. By relying on biased sources once again, the Western press has completely erased the atrocities of the insurgents, many of them backed by the US, while leading us dangerously closer to escalation in Syria that could result, either accidentally or intentionally in a hot war with Russia. How very convenient for the war hawks!
No comments:
Post a Comment