RT NewsWhite House officials say the United States may launch a limited military strike on Syria as early as this Thursday as the intelligence community prepares to release a report justifying action and allies are rallied.
Senior officials in the Obama administration told the Washington Post for an article published on Tuesday that the White House is weighing a limited strike on Syria and said on condition of anonymity that “We’re actively looking at the various legal angles that would inform a decision.”
According to the Post, the likely response from Washington would be a sea-to-land strike from the Mediterranean that would last no longer than two days and would not be directed towards targets where the chemical weapons arsenal is believed to be stored.
But while an attack is all but imminent and will likely be launched from warships already mobilized in the Mediterranean by the week’s end, public support in the US has teetered towards nil as of late. The Obama administration says there is undeniable proof that chemical weapons were used on civilians outside of Damascus on August 21, but a five-day-long Reuters poll taken during that time concluded only nine percent of Americans favor intervention.
An image grab taken from a video uploaded on YouTube on August 26, 2013 allegedly shows a UN inspectors (C) visiting a hospital in the Damascus suburb of Moadamiyet al-Sham. (AFP Photo)
Notwithstanding that lack of support, US Secretary of State John Kerry hinted Monday at a response which will jolt Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and ideally worsen the odds that his regime will implement chemical warheads again.
Despite insistence from Assad and allies in Russia that the Syrian government is not guilty of using chemical weapons, Sec. Kerry said during a press conference on Monday that “our understanding of what has already happened in Syria is grounded in facts, informed by conscious and guided by common sense.” Kerry called Assad’s reported attempt to cover-up the alleged use of chemical weapons “cynical” and said, “President Obama believes there must be accountability for those who would use the world’s heinous weapons against the world’s most vulnerable people.”
One day earlier, Sec. Kerry admitted that Pres. Obama was considering his options with regards to a strike and was to meet with lawmakers in Congress as well as with international leaders. According to the Post article, however, the president may forego getting approval from Capitol Hill and will instead rely on striking Syria due to “undeniable,” as the White House puts it, war crimes.
“The administration has said that it will follow international law in shaping its response,” Karen DeYoung and Anne Gearan wrote for the Post, adding, “But much of international law is untested, and administration lawyers are also examining possible legal justifications based on a violation of international prohibitions on chemical weapons use, or on an appeal for assistance from a neighboring nation such as Turkey.” Additionally, the US has already received assurance of support from Britain, France and Turkey.
(FILE PHOTO) The guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64) (L) and the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) transiting the Strait of Gibraltar on their way to the Mediterranean Sea. (AFP Photo / Jamie Cosby)
According to senior administration officials who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity, Pres. Obama met with his national security team this past weekend and has ordered that a declassified intelligence report showing the rationale for any attack on Syria be released before it occurs.
While only nine percent of the respondents polled in the Reuters survey between August 19 and 23 said they want the White House to respond to Assad’s reported use of chemical weapons immediately, 25 percent said they would favor intervention if the US concludes with certainty that those warheads were illegally used. A Reuters/Ipsos poll from earlier in the month found that 30.2 percent of Americans would support intervention if Assad is linked to using chemical weapons.
Sec. Kerry said the indiscriminate slaughter of women and children apparently being carried out by the Assad regime constitutes a “moral obscenity.”
Russians gonna do some a** whoopin’.
. . .
Well, the military kick’in out God and letting all of the sodomites in… I don’t think things will go well for them! They are the Lucy’s global army and have destroyed most of the worlds nations… I think they will be judged very soon. Babylon will fall in an hour and the world will sing praises. Let God have mercy on His own! That is my prayer, among many.
Amen!
Hey Smilardog, the navy’s new motto, “A global Force for Good” doesn’t roll off the tongue easy when mentioning their partner’s motto, “War by Deception”.
Millard, More like.. A good war by a Global Force of Deception! hehehe
Yeah Smilardog, it’s like the fox and the chickens deciding “What’s for Supper?” That’s the new combined U.S. Navy and Mossad’s motto, “A Global Farce For Deception.”
hehehe
“Obama reportedly considering two day strike on Syria”
Only two days? Wow. The emperor/CEO’s over-confidence is his weakness.
Hey NC, do you think we will see any new secret weapons like HAARP or space based weapons in this conflict if the Russians call our bluff. Yeah, and Mossad overheard a conversation on a cell phone, radio, or internet that proves Assad’s men were involved. Mossad would not share the information with the skeptical Russians. I’m guessing the conversation went something like this, “Hey Abdullah, boy I’m telling you, don’t ever eat at that “Taco Bell” place. I had a couple burritos last night and the gas was deadly. Talk about chemical warfare. I had to “Run for the Border!”
Now that was really funny, Millard
Straight from Millard, the “Skeptical Poet.” lol 🙂
be sure and tell the world that we are going to do something…. Send our military in while warning the enemy we are coming and for how long.. I hope the Joint Chiefs tell Big O to stick the strike order up his ass…
We have no business anywhere that will cost American Lives…
The only place they belong is in prison or hanging like a windchime from the gallows… with American Grown Hemp Rope!!!!
We have no business outside our own damn borders!
If someone was stupid enough to try and invade we’d gladly hand them their ass.
-flek
Those Russian antiaircraft missiles are quite effective and will bring a lot of planes down. I don’t see how their going to enforce a “no fly zone” when the Syrians have some of these missiles. The Syrians could be in short supply as Mossad did bomb some warehouses, boats, trucks and a train suspected of carrying these missiles. And yes, the Russians are “pissed off” at the U.S., Britain, France along with their Zionist “puppetmasters” and whom ever else they threatened, bribed, and lied to for their participation in this international effort to “Save the poor people of Syria who have been “gassed” by the Assad regime. Mossad has “proof” that Assad’s forces used these weapons but they can’t disclose the source of their very important information that was obtained through radio intercepts because of National Security concerns. Fits perfectly well with Mossad’s motto, “War By Deception.”
These people need to be called on their bullshit and treated like the war criminals they all are.
What a joke! Why don’t you ask your magic 8 ball you belligerent fool.