US Vows To Go It Alone in Syria

[icyfroth]

We all seem to be ignoring the elephant in the room ( no offence intended to our resident pink pachyderm):

UN powers deadlocked as Assad vows resistance

NEW YORK (AFP) - The United States made it clear Thursday that it was ready to act alone to launch a punitive strike against Syria's chemical-armed regime, as top UN powers remained deadlocked.

Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad vowed to resist any military intervention, and the governments of US allies Britain and France struggled to win domestic political backing for action.

Key US ally Britain had mounted an improbable bid to win UN backing for military action, but a meeting of the permanent Security Council members broke with no apparent breakthrough.

The 45-minute meeting was the second since Britain proposed a draft resolution to permit "all necessary measures" to protect Syrian civilians after a suspected chemical weapons attack last week.

US warships armed with scores of cruise missiles are converging on the eastern Mediterranean, and US military officials have said they are ready to launch a powerful barrage against regime targets in Syria.

Assad's ally Russia has blocked all attempts to toughen international sanctions against Damascus or authorize outside force to punish or unseat the regime.

Assad remained defiant in the face of the Western threats.

"Syria will defend itself in the face of any aggression," state television cited him as telling a visiting delegation of Yemeni politicians.

He vowed that any attack would result in "victory" for the Syrian people.

His regime has denied using chemical weapons and blamed "terrorist" rebels.

Click here to read whole article: http://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/-/world/18700561/assad-vows-to-defend-syria-amid-military-buildup/

The US would have to be the most war-mongering nation since Rome!

Why don't they butt out of middle-eastern politics?

They say they have a humanitarian duty to intervene but they are just destabilising the whole region and contributing to civilian deaths.

[icyfroth]

Assad being aligned with Putin has a lot to do with what?

Just asking.

[poddster]

Some one is trying to feed you red herring Icy 😉

[monman12]

POD: "did you read the first part of my post John? I notice you didn't make a comment on that."
Maybe because I thought it just anti US rhetoric, with no concept of the economics you mentioned.

Interesting,  "our" comments on other nation's foreign policies when  I suspect little is appreciated (known) of our own now, and  in the past.

TGSE: "My prediction is that If Assad falls, the result will be a brutal scramble for power and Syria will be left in a worse state than she is in now."

I agree TGSE,  but wonder  whether it could be in a worse state than the bloody civil war that now exists,  but it would  become an expanded conflict divided along Sunni-Shiite lines, so I guess worse.

nɥºɾ

[spotweldersfriend]

The above post should have read" we will NOT get involved......."

[icyfroth]

MOSCOW—The Kremlin said Friday it is still trying to prevent a Western
military strike against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad,
but Moscow appears to be running out of cards to play to protect its
longtime ally.

At a Kremlin briefing Friday, Yuri Ushakov, top foreign-policy aide to President Vladimir Putin, wouldn't be drawn into a discussion of possible Russian reactions to a western strike. "For the moment, Russia is working actively to avoid any kind of scenario involving force," he said. Mr. Putin made that case Thursday in a phone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

He said Thursday's vote the U.K. Parliament against military action was a sign of growing skepticism in the West with calls to punish the Assad regime for its alleged use of chemical weapons against its own citizens on Aug. 21.

"It seems to me that people are starting to understand how dangerous these scenarios are, especially without sanction," he said, referring to proposals to use military force without U.N. backing.

Russian officials argue that they aren't seeking to preserve the Assad regime but oppose the principle of intervention without U.N. sanction.

"We don't want the situation to become one where a single state or group of states charges, convicts and imposes their own sentence," Mr. Ushakov said. "This kind of action bypassing the U.N. Security Council, if it takes place, would do enormous harm to the world system."

He also reiterated that the Kremlin remains unconvinced by U.S. allegations that the Assad regime was behind the use of chemical weapons on Aug. 21. "The Americans haven't given us their intelligence data. We don't believe it," he said.

Click Here To Read Whole Article

[***super_nova***]

Both Russia and US are moving ships to the area. 

Assad is saying that it was the rebels staging the attack to get US to help them, but the consensus is that the rebels do not have the means or expertise to deliver the gas weapons.

[crystal-gems]

I wonder how many innocent civilians, including children, will be killed in an attack by the USA.

Same old, same..... old history repeating itself.

As Oscar Wilde said.....Americans are such careless people.  They make a mess and leave it for someone else to clean it up.

[***super_nova***]

Obama seeks congressional approval.  Most Americans are opposed but I just heard a woman saying: "We have to protect inocent people from these dictators".     just like they protected the people of Iraq.  

[icyfroth]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - "He was the peace candidate who became a war president, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has regularly ordered executions by drone."

Omg this man is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate I'd forgotten about that!

"Just three months ago, President Barack Obama called for an end to America's "perpetual war-time footing." On Saturday, he said he had decided to take military action against Syria for its apparent chemical weapons use, but would seek authorization from - and to share responsibility with - the U.S. Congress."

Unlike when he went ahead and bombed Libya without congressional approval in 2011, hitting several civilian institutions.

"I respect the views of those who call for caution, particularly as our country emerges from a time of war that I was elected in part to end," Obama said in his announcing his decision.

"But if we really do want to turn away from taking appropriate action in the face of such an unspeakable outrage, then we must acknowledge the costs of doing nothing," he said."

I think his administration has done plenty and he needs to back off.

Click Here To Read The Full Article

Yay preview is back!

[the_bob_delusion]

I have a bad feeling about this.

Why is everyone looking at the US to act? the US is in between a rock and a hard place. It's a lose lose situation for them. Therefore for us.

Watch Russian to counteract.