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Re: Escobar's Holy Tomahawk War
I'm surprised no one has said this - but it is a sad story that the present and most recently former Secretary of State of the United States seem to primarily be rabid attack dogs. H. Clinton with Libya, and Kerry with Syria.
It makes the US Department of State seem more like it should be renamed the Department of War.Comment
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Re: Escobar's Holy Tomahawk War
Good point. It's just a sign of the times. Empires in decline are often like this. Wars on every frontOriginally posted by c1ue View Post
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Re: Escobar's Holy Tomahawk War
....Long-term solutions will only begin to be feasible when Syrians are no longer at the mercy of what Northern Ireland politicians used to call "the politics of the last atrocity".
worth pondering...http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/...g-8792975.htmlComment
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Re: Escobar's Holy Tomahawk War
And also an opportunity to test and refine armaments...on "both" sides.Originally posted by don View PostComment
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Re: Escobar's Holy Tomahawk War
Cockburn raises a good point: if in fact the Syrian Army is winning - as in has solidified its base such that it feels it can now engage in offensive operations - the use of chemical weapons has a tactical benefit when it comes down to pushing out entrenched opposition fighters in urban areas.Originally posted by ThailandNotes
I do still heavily question whether Assad and/or the Syrian upper command is that stupid given the very recent events in Libya as well as the uproar not 3 months ago, but it is entirely believable that someone further down, whether due to temper or miscalculation, tried to take a shortcut.
The problem is, as Cockburn notes, even if the government were guilty (this time), a slap on the wrist isn't going to accomplish anything. Excellent commentary as always.Comment
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Re: Escobar's Holy Tomahawk War
One article I saw stated that Syria was talking to Russia and Iran about moving the chemical weapons to either of those nations to defuse the crisis. The wait for congressional approval may provide time to solve the problem without military action.Comment
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Re: Escobar's Holy Tomahawk War
from Zerohedge . . .
It was just yesterday, when we reported on the build up of Russian naval forces in the Meditteranean, in this case two new marine-carrying amphibious assault ships, that we made a simple forecast: "Our prediction: the next ship to be dispatched in direction Syria will be the missile cruiser Moskva, the "flag ship of the Black Sea fleet" and more of its affiliated warships... That, and a whole lot of submarines." We were right.
- RUSSIA SENDS MISSILE CRUISER MOSKVA TO EAST MEDITERRANEAN: IFX
- RUSSIA SENDS DESTROYER, FRIGATE TO EAST MEDITERRANEAN: IFX
- RUSSIA HAS WARSHIPS, SPY VESSELS MONITORING MEDITERRANEAN: IFX
- RUSSIA PREPARED TO ADJUST SIZE OF MEDITERRANEAN BUILDUP: IFX
The deployment is, more than anything, symbolic. It means Russia will no longer take US military build up in the region on the sidelines. Because while the Mediterranean build up is inevitable (and can be tracked here), the next step will be the arrival of Russian air and land-based support in Syria. Oh, and China. Let's not forget China.
More from Reuters:Russia is sending a missile cruiser to the east Mediterranean to take over the navy's operations in the region, state agency Interfax quoted a military source as saying on Wednesday, as the United States prepares for a possible military strike in Syria.
President Barack Obama has won backing from key figures in the U.S. Congress in his call for limited U.S. strikes on Syria to punish President Bashar al-Assad for his suspected use of chemical weapons against civilians.
The ship, Moskva, will take over operations from a naval unit in the region that Moscow says is needed to protect national interests. It will be joined by a destroyer from Russia's Baltic Fleet and a frigate from the Black Sea Fleet.
"The Cruiser Moskva is heading to the Gibraltar Straits. In approximately 10 days it will enter the east Mediterranean, where it will take over as the flagship of the naval task force," the source said.
...
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Russia has no intention of getting dragged into any military conflict over Syria.
Earlier this week, Interfax reported that Russia was also sending a reconnaissance ship to the region but that it would operate separately from the naval unit.
Elsewhere, rumor has it all of Congress has been nominated for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.
(side note -Senator McCain, who was playing cards during Syrian 'debate', revealed he has a standing Yes vote on all and any military actions. The targeted country is left blank.)Comment
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Re: Escobar's Holy Tomahawk War
Part 2 of an interview with Cockburn on the The Real News Network. "Understanding the Players in Syria." Often I just read the transcript, but the snips of footage are heartbreaking/worth the watch.
"A failed government, but also a failed opposition," sums it up.
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?...&jumival=10669Comment
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Re: Escobar's Holy Tomahawk War
in pipe-a-stan related news . . .
The Israeli government awarded a local subsidiary of U.S.-based Genie Energy the rights to explore for oil and natural gas in about 150 square miles of the southern section of the Golan Heights. The United Nations last year extended the mandate for the region's U.N. Disengagement Observer Force mission, one of the oldest peacekeeping missions, for another six months. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said keeping Blue Helmets stationed in the area was essential to peace given the potential for conflict spilling out of the Syrian civil war. Genie Energy said there may be a significant amount of oil and natural gas in the license area. When Israel set its sights on offshore natural gas, Hezbollah warned that Israel shouldn't encroach on Lebanese territory. If recent concerns about Hezbollah's influence are any indication, the Shiite resistance movement may focus its guns onshore amid expanding Israeli energy interests. With former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney serving as an adviser to Genie, however, the implications may go beyond immediate worries over Hezbollah.
Genie Energy said there may be "significant quantities" of natural resources in the region. The license area encompasses about 150 square miles of the southern portion of the Golan Heights, considered territory occupied by the Israeli military.
"Genie Energy intends to conduct an exploration program to further investigate the size and quality of the resource in the new license area," the company explained in a statement.
Related article: Super Majors Need to Step Up Their Oil Game
Last year, Israeli Energy Minister Uzi Landau said the government was looking to open the territory up for oil and natural gas exploration. Israel claims the territory as its own after capturing the region in a 1967 war with Syria. In November, UNDOF peacekeepers monitoring the 1973 cease-fire between Israel and Syria came under fire near Damascus during a troop rotation. U.N Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was concerned the Syrian civil war could spillover the borders given the latest escalation of violence. Last month, the United Nations expressed further concern amid reports that Israeli planes flew over the region to conduct an air strike on Hezbollah territory in southern Lebanon.
Landau's comments last year came amid optimism about natural gas reserves located off Israel's coast. The Tamar natural gas field is said to hold as much as 8.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The Leviathan field may hold nearly twice that, with an estimated 16 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Located more than 50 miles off the Israeli coast in the Mediterranean Sea, Lebanon contends some of that natural gas may lie in its territorial waters. Two years ago, Hezbollah warned that it wouldn’t tolerate any company working offshore where sovereignty is uncertain.
"The Israeli enemy cannot drill a single meter in these waters to search for gas and oil if the zone is disputed," it warned.
Hezbollah claimed victory in a 2006 war with Israel. Since then, Hezbollah has come under fire for ties to a terrorist attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria. Last week, former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri said he was concerned the Lebanese government was ceding military control over the southern borders to the Shiite movement, which holds Cabinet-level positions in the Lebanese government.
Related article: Crude Oil Pipelines Planned for the Future
Israel has faced increasing isolation for its settlement activity in the West Bank and for violating the border of its northern neighbors. A 1993 foreign policy doctrine from Israel's ally Washington, meanwhile, linked U.S. national security interests as they relate to oil and natural gas tacitly to Israel's security.
"The United States is committed to the security of Israel and to maintaining the qualitative edge that is critical to Israel's security," it read.
That document was drafted with the help of then Defense Secretary Dick Cheney. He's serving as an adviser to Genie as it plans work in an area encompassing about 30 percent of the Golan Heights. U.S. President Barack Obama, meanwhile, has plans to visit Israel next month. Cheney expressed recent concern that the Middle East was "as dangerous now as it has ever been" under Obama's leadership. With Cheney working the back channels, that "qualitative edge" may manifest itself in drilling operations in the occupied Golan Heights, a powder keg for potentially broad-based war in the Middle East.
By. Daniel J. Graeber of Oilprice.com
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil...n-Heights.htmlComment
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