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Post by jeffolie on Apr 23, 2013 15:57:37 GMT -6
Israel says Syria used chemical weapons
Washington Post - 1 hour ago TEL AVIV - Two senior Israeli military officials asserted Tuesday that forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have deployed chemical weapons that killed dozens of rebel fighters and civilians, saying their evidence - including photographs
shttp://www.washingtonpost.com/world/israel-says-syria-used-chemical-weapons/2013/04/23/74c209a2-ac14-11e2-9493-2ff3bf26c4b4_story.html
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Post by jeffolie on Apr 23, 2013 15:59:57 GMT -6
Syria used chemical weapons, Israel military said" ... “ The information that I have at this point does not confirm it to me [in a manner] that I would feel comfortable commenting on it as a fact,” Kerry said. “It is appropriate to chase this one down and investigate it further.” ... President Obama has warned the Assad government that the use of chemical weapons would represent “a red line” that could led to U.S. military intervention in the long-running Syrian conflict. ===================================== Israel says Syria used chemical weapons April 23, 2013 TEL AVIV — Two senior Israeli military officials asserted Tuesday that forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have deployed chemical weapons that killed dozens of rebel fighters and civilians, saying their evidence — including photographs of victims foaming at the mouth — made them “very close to 100 percent sure.”It was the most direct and public claim by Israel that Syria has resorted to chemical weapons, which would mark a steep escalation in a brutal civil war that has stretched on for more than two years. Coming less than a week after France and Britain made similar assertions to the United Nations, the official remarks from a close U.S. ally add to mounting international pressure on the United States — which has repeatedly said it will not tolerate the use of chemical weapons — to intervene in the Syrian conflict. “To the best of our professional understanding, the regime used lethal chemical weapons against gunmen in a series of incidents in recent months,” said Brig. Gen. Itai Brun, chief of the research division of Israel’s army intelligence branch. Brun was speaking at a public conference at the Institute for National Security Studies here. Brun did not, however, offer any evidence — photographs, toxicology, analysis of residue — to bolster his claims. Secretary of State John F. Kerry, who is in Brussels for meetings on Syria, said he spoke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone Tuesday morning and Netanyahu “was not in a position to confirm” the Israeli military’s assessment. “ The information that I have at this point does not confirm it to me [in a manner] that I would feel comfortable commenting on it as a fact,” Kerry said. “It is appropriate to chase this one down and investigate it further.”President Obama has warned the Assad government that the use of chemical weapons would represent “a red line” that could led to U.S. military intervention in the long-running Syrian conflict. A second senior Israeli military official, speaking on the condition that he not be named, said there were five cases in which chemical weapons appear to have been used, including incidents on March 19 in Aleppo and Damascus. This official said “dozens” were killed in the attacks when a “sarin-type” chemical was dispersed. The military official said Israeli officials believe that Assad used the chemical weapons as a kind of “test case” to gauge the reaction of the international community. They said the chemicals were dispersed in a limited way, and not intended to kill hundreds. “It wasn’t operational, it was a test,” said the military official, who would not describe how the chemicals were dispersed, but did say, “you don’t need an aircraft or a missile, you can just carry it.” The Israeli military official conceded that it would be difficult for Israel to conduct sustained unilateral strikes against chemical weapons targets in Syria, since it would support Assad’s narrative that the civil uprising against him is the work of outsiders. The Israeli military made its assessments public as U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel prepared to leave Jerusalem after meetings with Netanyahu. Hagel later toured an Israeli army training site in Tel Aviv with Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, but none of the leaders commented publicly about Syria. www.washingtonpost.com/world/israel-says-syria-used-chemical-weapons/2013/04/23/74c209a2-ac14-11e2-9493-2ff3bf26c4b4_story.html
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Post by jeffolie on Apr 25, 2013 13:35:44 GMT -6
April 25, 2013 Syria likely used chemical weapons: White House By Greg Robb WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The Obama administration said Thursday that U.S. intelligence agencies believe "with varying degrees of confidence" that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons on a small scale against armed rebels. President Barack Obama has said use of chemical weapons by the Assad government would cross a "red line." The disclosure came in a letter to Sen. Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan, from Miguel Rodriguez, the director of the White House office of legislative affairs. The chemical agent likely used was Sarin. The U.S. seeks to build on these intelligence assessments with more "credible and corroborated facts," a White House official told reporters. The United Nations should undertake an investigation to evaluate the evidence, the official, who spoke on background, said. If the use of chemical weapons is established, the U.S. would discuss next steps with allies and the Syrian opposition, the official said. " All options are on the table in terms of our response," the official said www.marketwatch.com/story/syria-likely-used-chemical-weapons-white-house-2013-04-25?dist=countdown
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Post by jeffolie on Apr 25, 2013 15:13:23 GMT -6
First Take: Calls for action in Syria to intensifyBy Aamer Madhani, USA TODAYApril 25, 2013 As the White House acknowledges the use of chemical weapons in Syria, the drumbeat for military action will grow louder. Story Highlights White House seeks confirmation, details on Syrian use of chemical weapons The lessons of Iraq -- failed intelligence -- loom large in response to this report Unlikely scenario: U.S. ground intervention President Obama had drawn a "red line" on the use or transfer of chemical weapons by Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime, calling such actions unacceptable. Now that the White House has acknowledged that this line very likely has been crossed, the response of Obama and the international community could be critical not just in Syria, but in maintaining the president's credibility in Iran, where Obama is pushing the regime to abandon its nuclear program. As intelligence shows chemical weapons have probably been used in Syria, the pressure from the political right for decisive action by the president will only intensify. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who has long advocated a no-fly zone to stem the bloodshed in Syria that has left more than 70,000 dead, groused to reporters after being notified by the White House of the intelligence that sarin, a lethal nerve agent, has probably been deployed. "Everything that the non-interventionists said that would happen in Syria if we intervened has happened," McCain said. The shadow of the war in Iraq looms large for Obama. Without uttering the "I" word, the White House was quick Thursday to recall the later-debunked intelligence that showed Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction — the central underpinning of George W. Bush's rationalization for going to war. An Iraq-style, boots-on-ground intervention is not under serious consideration. Obama aides made clear that the intelligence community's physiological evidence that indicates Syria's use of chemical weapons is a bar too low to merit military action, such as implementing a no-fly zone. "Given the stakes involved, and what we have learned from our own recent experience, intelligence assessments alone are not sufficient — only credible and corroborated facts that provide us with some degree of certainty will guide our decision-making and strengthen our leadership of the international community," Miguel Rodriguez, Obama's liaison to Congress, wrote in a letter to lawmakers Thursday. The White House is pushing the pro-interventionist crowd for patience, but the drumbeat for action is likely to grow louder.www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/04/25/syria-chemical-weapons-obama-red-line-hagel/2113101/
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Post by jeffolie on Apr 25, 2013 15:13:38 GMT -6
First Take: Calls for action in Syria to intensifyBy Aamer Madhani, USA TODAYApril 25, 2013 As the White House acknowledges the use of chemical weapons in Syria, the drumbeat for military action will grow louder. Story Highlights White House seeks confirmation, details on Syrian use of chemical weapons The lessons of Iraq -- failed intelligence -- loom large in response to this report Unlikely scenario: U.S. ground intervention President Obama had drawn a "red line" on the use or transfer of chemical weapons by Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime, calling such actions unacceptable. Now that the White House has acknowledged that this line very likely has been crossed, the response of Obama and the international community could be critical not just in Syria, but in maintaining the president's credibility in Iran, where Obama is pushing the regime to abandon its nuclear program. As intelligence shows chemical weapons have probably been used in Syria, the pressure from the political right for decisive action by the president will only intensify. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who has long advocated a no-fly zone to stem the bloodshed in Syria that has left more than 70,000 dead, groused to reporters after being notified by the White House of the intelligence that sarin, a lethal nerve agent, has probably been deployed. "Everything that the non-interventionists said that would happen in Syria if we intervened has happened," McCain said. The shadow of the war in Iraq looms large for Obama. Without uttering the "I" word, the White House was quick Thursday to recall the later-debunked intelligence that showed Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction — the central underpinning of George W. Bush's rationalization for going to war. An Iraq-style, boots-on-ground intervention is not under serious consideration. Obama aides made clear that the intelligence community's physiological evidence that indicates Syria's use of chemical weapons is a bar too low to merit military action, such as implementing a no-fly zone. "Given the stakes involved, and what we have learned from our own recent experience, intelligence assessments alone are not sufficient — only credible and corroborated facts that provide us with some degree of certainty will guide our decision-making and strengthen our leadership of the international community," Miguel Rodriguez, Obama's liaison to Congress, wrote in a letter to lawmakers Thursday. The White House is pushing the pro-interventionist crowd for patience, but the drumbeat for action is likely to grow louder.www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/04/25/syria-chemical-weapons-obama-red-line-hagel/2113101/
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