WarSclerotic

U.S. urges Americans to leave Syria “immediately” – CBS News.

(CBS/AP)

BEIRUT – The U.S. Embassy in Damascus urged its citizens in Syria to depart “immediately,” and Turkey’s foreign ministry urged Turkish pilgrims to opt for flights to return home from Saudi Arabia to avoid traveling through Syria.

“The U.S. Embassy continues to urge U.S. citizens in Syria to depart immediately while commercial transportation is available,” said a statement issued to the American community in Syria Wednesday and posted on the Embassy’s website. “The number of airlines serving Syria has decreased significantly since the summer, while many of those airlines remaining have reduced their number of flights.”

The warning followed an announcement in Washington this week that Ambassador Robert Ford would not return to Syria this month as planned, indicating concerns over his safety.

The Obama administration quietly pulled Ford out of Syria last month, citing credible personal threats against him.

The Turkish foreign ministry on Wednesday urged Turkish pilgrims to opt for flights to return home from Saudi Arabia and avoid traveling through Syria for security reasons.

The warning came two days after Syrian soldiers opened fire on at least two buses carrying Turkish citizens, witnesses and officials said, apparent retaliation for Turkey’s criticism of Assad. The Turks were returning from Saudi Arabia after performing the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, Syrian security carried out raids in rebellious areas in the center and the south of the country Wednesday, and at least six people died, raising the death toll in the past two days to 34, activists said, as the U.S. and Turkey took unusual steps to protect their citizens.

Syrian President Bashar Assad was under increasing international pressure to stop the brutal crackdown, but no effects were apparent on the ground.

Activists and human rights groups said at least six people died in central and southern Syria on Wednesday, some during raids by Syrian security forces, and others who died of injuries sustained earlier.

Wednesday’s casualties raised to 34 the number of Syrians killed in the past 24 hours.

Two main activist groups, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordinating Committees, documented the deaths, which were reported Tuesday in the central cities of Hama and Homs, the eastern city of Deir el-Zour and elsewhere.

The violence came a day ahead of Arab League talks in Cairo to assess the Syria crisis after the 22-member organization rejected proposed Syrian amendments to its plan to send Arab observers to Syria to protect civilians.

The Arab League suspended Syria’s membership over the bloodshed and Syria’s failure to abide by an Arab peace plan it signed.

A key U.N. committee voted Tuesday to condemn human rights violations by Assad’s government and called for an immediate end to all violence. Nearly 4,000 people have been reported killed in the military crackdown on the popular uprising since March.

The nonbinding resolution adopted by the General Assembly’s human rights committee calls on Syrian authorities to implement the Arab League peace plan, agreed to earlier this month, “without further delay.”

The resolution, sponsored by Britain, France and Germany, was passed by a vote of 122-13 with 41 abstentions. It must now be approved at a plenary session of the 193-member world body, where its adoption is virtually certain.

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said in a statement that the committee’s first-ever resolution on Syria’s human rights violations “has sent a clear message that it does not accept abuse and death as a legitimate path to retaining power.”

Syria’s U.N. Ambassador Bashar Jaafari again accused Britain, France and Germany of “waging a media, political and diplomatic war against Syria” and encouraging armed groups to engage in violence rather than national dialogue with the government.

Israeli security forces: Turkey nearing military intervention in Syria – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News.

Defense officials in Israel say Turkey is likely to set up secure buffer zones in Syria, near the border, to allow armed Syrian opposition groups to battle against the regime.

By Anshel Pfeffer

Israeli security forces officials said Wednesday that they believe Turkey is nearing a military intervention in Syria, in order to create a secure buffer zone for opposition activists.

Thus far, Ankara has given shelter to some 20,000 refugees who escaped the deadly crackdown by Syrian President Bashar Assad’s security forces, and also housed Syrian opposition groups.

	A protester facings riot police at Khalidia, near Homs, Syria, November 4, 2011.
	Photo by: Reuters

In recent days, however, Israeli officials said that according to an updated assessment of the situation, Turkey is expected to set up secure buffer zones on its border with Syria that would allow armed opposition groups to organize against the Syrian regime from bases that would be protected by the Turkish army.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently hardened his stance against Assad and suggested for the first time the possibility of foreign intervention in Syria.

Wide protests against Assad’s regime have been ongoing across Syria, but in recent weeks the focal point of the armed resistance by army defectors was in the three northern cities close to Turkey’s border – Idlib, Homs, and Hama.

According to various reports, there is an area in Idlib where the Syrian army lost control and has the potential to become an independent, rebel-controlled area, such as the Libyan city of Benghazi, which was seized by the rebels early in the revolution and became the temporary base for the opposition movement.

» Report: US & Arab States Set To Impose No Fly Zone Over Syria Alex Jones’ Infowars: There’s a war on for your mind!.

Plan to cripple Assad’s military forces within 24 hours

Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
Wedneday, November 23, 2011

Reports out of Kuwait suggest that Arab states are set to impose a no fly zone over Syria with US logistical support, advancing the prospect of a military assault to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad under a “humanitarian” pretext.

“Senior European sources said that Arab jet fighters, and possibly Turkish warplanes, backed by American logistic support will implement a no fly zone in Syria’s skies, after the Arab League will issue a decision, under its Charter, calling for the protection of Syrian civilians,” reports Albawaba, citing Kuwait’s al Rai daily.

YNet news, the website for Israel’s most widely read newspaper, also carried the report.

As part of a plan to cripple the country’s military forces within 24 hours, the “movement of Syrian military vehicles, including tanks, personnel carriers and artillery,” would all be banned under the terms of the no fly zone.

Syrian opposition forces have repeatedly called for a no fly zone to be enforced over the country, but last month NATO all but ruled out the prospect. Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry has also called on the Obama administration to impose a no fly zone without waiting for a green light from the United Nations.

“If indeed Europe and the Western world is dead set upon an aerial campaign above Syria, then all eyes turn to the East, and specifically Russia and China, which have made it very clear they will not tolerate any intervention. And naturally the biggest unknown of all is Iran, which has said than any invasion of Syria will be dealt with swiftly and severely,” reports Zero Hedge.

Hostilities have accelerated in recent days, with Russian warships entering Syrian territorial waters on Friday in an aggressive maneuver designed to discourage any NATO-led attack.

Without Russia’s help, Syria would be largely defenseless against a NATO attack. “I don’t see any purely military problems. Syria has no defence against Western systems … [But] it would be more risky than Libya. It would be a heavy military operation,” former French air force chief Jean Rannou commented.

While NATO powers have accused the Syrian regime of carrying out atrocities against its citizens, others have framed the bloodshed in the context of a civil war. As we saw with Libya, rebel fighters who were commandeering fighter jets and firing rocket-propelled grenades were still being described as “protesters” by the establishment media days before the no fly zone was imposed and the bombing campaign began.

As we saw prior to the attack on Libya, which was also framed as a “humanitarian intervention,” NATO powers are keen to demonize Assad’s government by characterizing attacks by his forces as atrocities while largely ignoring similar attacks by opposition forces, such as a raid on a Syrian air force intelligence complex earlier this month that killed or wounded 20 security police.

*********************

Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a regular fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show.

Israeli Military Intelligence Caused Massive Explosion In Hezbollah South Lebanon Arms Cache – OpEd.

Written by: Richard Silverstein

November 23, 2011

‘Iran strike aftermath couldn’t … JPost – Iranian Threat – News.

(This is pretty much how every Israeli, including myself feels.)

    The outcome of a strike on Iran’s nuclear sites, no matter how destructive, can never be as bad for Israel as an Iran armed with nuclear weapons, former Mossad chief Danny Yatom said on Wednesday at a security conference at Bar-Ilan University.

Yatom took up a position that is diametrically opposed to that of former Mossad head Meir Dagan, who sparked significant controversy by stating earlier this year that an attack on Iran would be a foolish move that would lead to a war with an unknown outcome.

“There is a big argument over whether to attack Iran or not,” Yatom said. “The argument is legitimate. Some say Israel will pay a high price, no matter who does the attacking,” Yatom added.

“As difficult a price it may be, and even if those predicting apocalyptic results are correct – and I don’t think they are – this is still not as bad as the threat of an Iranian nuclear bomb,” he argued.

Israel can’t afford to find itself in the position of having “to wake up every morning and ask, will they go crazy and throw a bomb on us or not,” Yatom said, adding, “the damage that an Iranian nuclear bomb can cause is so great.”

It is impossible to stake the nation’s security on predictions by those who claim a nuclear Iran can be deterred, and that the Iranian regime would not launch a nuclear attack, he said. Yatom acknowledged that rocket attacks would likely ensue from Lebanon and Gaza following a strike, but added that Israel’s response would be “so painful and crushing that rockets will come to an end.”

He added, “Civilian facilities and infrastructure in Lebanon and Gaza will be hit. Innocent civilians could be hurt. But the barrage of rockets will not longer be falling over our heads.”

The world does not have much time left to act on Iran, the former Mossad head warned, adding that “there is an evaluation that they crossed the red line. They have the knowledge to make the bomb. All that is needed now is the decision to do it…. The world has a year, probably less.” He also doubted that sanctions would be effective.

Addressing the option of targeting Iran with covert operations, Yatom said that whether or not Israel was linked to such acts, they “won’t stop Iran. They either will have the bomb or not. I think force will have to be used. I don’t think Israel should lead. This is a world problem… [But] should the world stand on the sidelines,  Israel will be fully entitled to use its natural right to self defense.”

Israeli security forces: Turkey nearing military intervention in Syria – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News.

Defense officials in Israel say Turkey is likely to set up secure buffer zones in Syria, near the border, to allow armed Syrian opposition groups to battle against the regime.

By Anshel Pfeffer

Israeli security forces officials said Wednesday that they believe Turkey is nearing a military intervention in Syria, in order to create a secure buffer zone for opposition activists.

Thus far, Ankara has given shelter to some 20,000 refugees who escaped the deadly crackdown by Syrian President Bashar Assad’s security forces, and also housed Syrian opposition groups.

	A protester facings riot police at Khalidia, near Homs, Syria, November 4, 2011.
	Photo by: Reuters

In recent days, however, Israeli officials said that according to an updated assessment of the situation, Turkey is expected to set up secure buffer zones on its border with Syria that would allow armed opposition groups to organize against the Syrian regime from bases that would be protected by the Turkish army.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently hardened his stance against Assad and suggested for the first time the possibility of foreign intervention in Syria.

Wide protests against Assad’s regime have been ongoing across Syria, but in recent weeks the focal point of the armed resistance by army defectors was in the three northern cities close to Turkey’s border – Idlib, Homs, and Hama.

According to various reports, there is an area in Idlib where the Syrian army lost control and has the potential to become an independent, rebel-controlled area, such as the city of Benghazi in Libya, which was seized by the rebels at an early stage of the revolution and became the temporary base for the opposition movement.

Israeli security forces: Turkey nearing military intervention in Syria – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

Defense officials in Israel say Turkey is likely to set up secure buffer zones in Syria, near the border, to allow armed Syrian opposition groups to battle against the regime.

By Anshel Pfeffer

Israeli security forces officials said Wednesday that they believe Turkey is nearing a military intervention in Syria, in order to create a secure buffer zone for opposition activists.

Thus far, Ankara has given shelter to some 20,000 refugees who escaped the deadly crackdown by Syrian President Bashar Assad’s security forces, and also housed Syrian opposition groups.

	A protester facings riot police at Khalidia, near Homs, Syria, November 4, 2011.
	Photo by: Reuters

In recent days, however, Israeli officials said that according to an updated assessment of the situation, Turkey is expected to set up secure buffer zones on its border with Syria that would allow armed opposition groups to organize against the Syrian regime from bases that would be protected by the Turkish army.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently hardened his stance against Assad and suggested for the first time the possibility of foreign intervention in Syria.

Wide protests against Assad’s regime have been ongoing across Syria, but in recent weeks the focal point of the armed resistance by army defectors was in the three northern cities close to Turkey’s border – Idlib, Homs, and Hama.

According to various reports, there is an area in Idlib where the Syrian army lost control and has the potential to become an independent, rebel-controlled area, such as the city of Benghazi in Libya, which was seized by the rebels at an early stage of the revolution and became the temporary base for the opposition movement.

Is Israel The Only Key To Preventing Iran From Getting A Nuclear Weapon? | Fox News.

While the gravity of Iran’s threat to global security has deepened with the passage of time, world recognition of the dangers that an Iran armed with nuclear weapons would pose, and what should be done to prevent that eventuality, has not kept pace.

The new International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report, the most comprehensive and penetrating assessment of the Iranian nuclear program, should have been a wake-up call for urgent action. But the response has been uninspiring. While the IAEA board endorsed IAEA Director Amano’s concerns, its resolution adopted last Friday fell short on follow-up by omitting any call for additional UN Security Council action or other punitive measures.

Since prospects for a fifth Security Council resolution sanctioning Iran are unlikely, key Western governments are taking steps to expand and toughen existing economic sanctions. The boldest so far was Britain’s decision Monday to end all dealings with the Iranian Central Bank. That initiative would have greater impact if the United States and other countries invoked similarly strong measures.

So far, however, new American and Canadian sanctions stopped short of a total ban on the central bank. While the European Union is poised to impose another round of sanctions later this week, the refusal of Russia and China to join in these efforts undermines the global campaign to prevent Iranian nuclear weapons. The obstinate posture assumed by these powers may ironically enhance the chance for some kind of military action, precisely the outcome Moscow and Beijing profess to oppose.

Leading American pundits have argued for some time that military action is the only way to end Iran’s nuclear-weapons quest. They do not believe that the economic sanctions imposed by the U.N., U.S., EU and other countries can be effective.

These experts share a view that only one country, Israel, is both able and willing to do the job. Major American media have been obsessed, almost wishfully, for several years now with the prospect of an Israeli military strike, mentioning Israel in almost every news article on Iran’s nuclear program.

President Obama has made clear that all options are still on the table. Several Republican contenders for the presidency have openly stated their support for U.S. military intervention. And, public opinion polls show a majority of Americans would favor an Israeli or American military attack.

In its last poll on Iran, taken in April 2010, Fox News found that 65 percent of Americans support, and 25 percent oppose, the U.S. taking military action to keep Iran from getting nuclear weapons.

A CNN poll found 59 percent would support military action if economic and diplomatic efforts fail to stop Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Indeed, 23 percent didn’t want to wait, and would have supported military action when the poll was taken in February 2010.

And, AJC, in its latest annual survey of American Jews, found 56 percent would support, and 38 percent oppose, the U.S. taking military action against Iran. When asked about Israel, 68 percent would support and 26 percent oppose Jerusalem doing the job.

Comments by Israeli officials around the IAEA report release brought to the fore concerns about whether and when an overt attack on Iran might occur. Ultimately, Israel will decide what is necessary to protect its citizens.

But unlike the destruction of Iraq’s Osirak reactor in 1981, or the nuclear site in Syria in 2007, attacking Iran would not be a total surprise. It is one of the most talked about potential assaults in recent history.

Along with the IAEA report, renewed speculation about Israel or the U.S. exercising the military option should spur a mobilization of international economic and political sanctions. The right mix of non-military measures, particularly focused on Iran’s all-important energy and banking sectors, still might stop the Iranian nuclear threat.

To prevent an attack, though, sanctions must be punishingly effective. The onus is, first and foremost, on those major nations that continue to do business as usual with Iran.

Netanyahu calls for stronger sanctions on Iran than those imposed by U.S. – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News.

PM says Tehran’s nuclear ambitions must be curbed after IAEA report indicated that Iran had worked on designing a nuclear bomb.

By Reuters

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Wednesday for stronger sanctions on Iran than those imposed this week by the United States, Britain and Canada to try to curb its nuclear ambitions.

“Iran is developing nuclear weapons. If anyone had any doubts, the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) report certainly dispelled them,” Netanyahu told parliament, referring to the UN body’s findings on Nov. 8 that suggested Iran had worked on designing a nuclear bomb.

	Netanyahu at a session of the Knesset.
	Photo by: AP

“It is important to impose sanctions, tough sanctions, on this regime – even tougher than those that have been imposed over the past few days,” he said, without elaborating on measures he believes should be taken.

On Monday, the United States, Britain and Canada announced new sanctions on Iran’s energy and financial sectors, steps analysts said may raise pressure on Tehran but were unlikely to halt its nuclear program.

The United States named Iran as an area of “primary money laundering concern”, a step designed to dissuade non-U.S. banks from dealing with it; blacklisted 11 entities suspected of aiding its nuclear programs; and expanded sanctions to target companies that aid its oil and petrochemical industries.

The United States stopped short, however, of targeting Iran’s central bank, a step that could have cut it off from the global financial system, sent oil prices skyrocketing and jeopardized U.S. and European economic recovery.

In a coordinated action, Britain ordered all British financial institutions to stop doing business with their Iranian counterparts, including the Iranian central bank.

Canada said it would ban the export of all goods used in Iran’s petrochemical, oil and gas industry and “block virtually all transactions with Iran”, including with its central bank, with an exception for Iranian-Canadians to send money home.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton telephoned Netanyahu on Monday to brief him on the new sanctions. Like the United States, Israel has said all options, including a military one, are on the table in trying to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear arms.

In a statement issued after his conversation with Clinton, Netanyahu’s office quoted him as saying: “Such sanctions make clear to the Iranians the price (they will pay) will be high if they continue to their nuclear program.”

Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful and is aimed at generating electricity. Israel has said a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a danger to its existence.

Last week, Defense Minister Ehud Barak called for “lethal sanctions” against Iran, including steps to halt imports of Iranian oil and exports of refined petroleum to the Islamist Republic.

But he said such moves would require the cooperation of the United States, Europe, India, China and Russia, and he did not believe such a coalition could be formed.

DEBKAfile, Political Analysis, Espionage, Terrorism, Security.

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report November 23, 2011, 7:37 PM (GMT+02:00)

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev

After deploying three warships in Syrian waters, Moscow continues to beat war drums against the United States followed closely by Tehran. Wednesday, Nov. 23, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told state television: “I have ordered the armed forces to develop measures to ensure if necessary that we can destroy the command and control systems” of the planned US missile-defense system in Europe. These measures are appropriate, effective and low-cost.”

Iranian Supreme Leader’s top advisor for military affairs Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi came next. He said: “The Iranian Revolutionary Guards controls the identity and destination of every US warship which intends to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.”

debkafile‘s military sources report that the US missile shield’s command and control systems which the Russian president spoke of destroying are linked directly to Israel’s missile defense network against Iranian, Syria and Hizballah missiles and the X-Band radar station located in the southern Israeli Negev.
Medvedev’s threat to American “command and control systems” was therefore comprehensive. It referred not just to the US anti-missile shield facilities planned for Europe, but also to preparing measures for use (“if necessary”) – in the course of  a possible American or Israeli attack on Iran or Syria – for striking the US missile defense systems in Europe before they can intercept Iranian missiles.
Knocking out the European shield would leave Israel completely exposed to Iranian missile attack.

In a very few terse words, the Russian president has made it clear that the Kremlin will not allow Iran and its Middle East allies be prevented from missile retaliation in the event of war. That threat also explains why at least two of the three Russian naval vessels moved into Syrian territorial waters last week were equipped for surveillance and electronic warfare, exactly what is needed for a Russian operation to destroy US missile shield command and control centers near the Syrian border, such as the one stationed in Turkey.

In another part of his announcement, President Medvedev also threatened to opt out of the new START arms control deal with the United States and halt other arms control talks if the US proceeds with the missile shield without meeting Russia’s demand for it to be managed jointly, which NATO has rejected.
The Iranian General Savavi’s assertion of the IRGC’s exclusive control of the Strait of Hormuz was in direct response to the crossing of two US carriers, the USS Stennis and USS Bush, through the strait to take up position opposite the Iranian coast. This was reported exclusively by debkafile Monday, Nov. 21.