US boosts naval presence amid Syria tensions
24 Aug 2013 08:23
Fourth vessel ordered to the Mediterranean as pressure rises on White House for action after reported gas attack. The US navy is expanding its presence in the Mediterranean Sea with a fourth cruise-missile-armed warship, amid indications from Chuck Hagel, the defence secretary, that the US is positioning assets in anticipation of any decision by President Barack Obama to order military action on Syria.
Friday’s decision came after rebels and activists claimed that a chemical-weapons attack on a rebel-held area in the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus killed hundreds of people.
Barack Obama, the US president, has called the incident “a big event of grave concern”. His security advisers are expected to convene at the White House this weekend to discuss US options regarding Syria.
The USS Mahan, a cruise-missile armed warship, had finished its deployment and was due to head back to its home base in Norfolk, Virginia, but the commander of the US Sixth Fleet decided to keep the ship in the region, Reuters news agency and CNN reported.
The USS Ramage arrived to replace the USS Mahan, but the Mahan is going to stay around a bit longer, so temporarily there will be four, CNN said.
An official, who was not authorised to speak publicly, told Reuters that the navy had received no orders to prepare for any military operations regarding Syria.
Options on Syria
In a statement afterwards, Hagel, who was travelling to Malaysia, discussed the decision to keep the Mahan in the Mediterranean.
He said Obama had asked the Defence Department for options on Syria.
“The Defence Department has responsibility to provide the president with options for all contingencies,” he said. “And that requires positioning our forces, positioning our assets, to be able to carry out different options – whatever options the president might choose.” Asked whether it was fair to report that the US had moved assets, Hagel said: “I don’t think I said that. I said that we are always having to prepare – as we give the president options – prepare our assets and where they are and the capability of those assets to carry out the contingencies we give the president.”
Meanwhile, Obama’s security advisers are planning to convene at the White House this weekend to discuss US options, including possible military action.
Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, an official cautioned against expecting that any final decision might come out of this next round of discussions.
A UN team is in the country to investigate the mutual allegations of the rebels and the Syrian regime on chemical weapons use in Syria.
Footage shot by an independent journalist for Britain’s ITV News appears to show victims of the alleged chemical attack in question.
View more at Al Jazeera Video: http://aje.me/16rqPwx
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Syria crisis: US weighs military options 24 August 2013
The US has bolstered its navy presence in the eastern Mediterranean as President Barack Obama weighs up his options over the conflict in Syria. US President Barack Obama is to meet his national security team on Saturday to discuss possible next steps in Syria, the White House has announced. Syria crisis: US weighs military options http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23822440
Horrific images of Syrian ‘gas attack’ are hard to forget
23 Aug 2013 Geraint Vincent: Middle East Correspondent
Yumna is a little girl who lost her parents in what is alleged to have been a chemical weapons attack on a neighbourhood in east Damascus. She regained consciousness in a local medical centre a few hours later. She shouts out – ‘I am alive!’ – almost to convince herself. Then she asks the doctor to help her, and to hold her. She is bewildered, incoherent, terrified. There are more screams. In a city full of horror, she is crying out for humanity. Horrific images of Syrian ‘gas attack’ are hard to forget http://www.itv.com/news/2013-08-23/horrific-images-of-syrian-gas-attack-are-hard-to-forget/
New footage emerges of Syria ‘gas attack’
23 Aug 2013 20:39
Footage shot by an independent journalist for Britain’s ITV News appears to show aftermath of chemical attack in Damascus suburbs. A small crater and exploded metal was only feet away from where dead bodies were lying. An unnamed survivor of the attack, shown in the video, said he had gone to investigate a small explosion that he heard, but smelt a strange odour. “The next morning we discovered all families dead in their homes. [I] just opened the door [to] see the whole family killed in place with foam in their mouths and eyes together with blood in their ears,” he said. New footage emerges of Syria ‘gas attack’ http://www.aljazeera.com/video/2013823181349586368.html
Syria conflict: A fight to the death between its people
22 Aug 2013 John Irvine: International Correspondent
This man, this regime, has killed tens of thousands of children using other catastrophic means – conventional artillery, homemade bombs packed with TNT thrown out of helicopters onto villages and family homes, snipers, machine guns. He has used every other method to kill ordinary civilians, without fear of intimidation. So why wouldn’t he use gas? Regardless of the truth, perception is everything in this war. And this image will only add fuel to the fire. Syria conflict: A fight to the death between its people http://www.itv.com/news/2013-08-22/syria-conflict-a-fight-to-the-death-between-its-people/
Evil prospers when good men do nothing
‘Tolerating evil leads only to more evil. And when good people stand by and do nothing while wickedness reigns, their communities will be consumed’. Evil prospers when good men do nothing http://www.judgmentforsale.com/blog/
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