Sources: Syria strike due in days, West tells opposition

Tuesday, 27 August 2013

Shelling Syria: Western forces have told Syrian opposition to expect a strike against Assad regime in days. (File photo: Reuters)

Reuters, Amman

Western powers told the Syrian opposition to expect a strike against President Bashar al-Assad's forces within days, according to sources who attended a meeting between envoys and the Syrian National Coalition in Istanbul.

“The opposition was told in clear terms that action to deter further use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime could come as early as in the next few days, and that they should still prepare for peace talks at Geneva,” one of the sources who was at the meeting on Monday told Reuters.

The meeting at a hotel in downtown Istanbul was between senior figures of the Syrian National Coalition, including its president Ahmad Jarba, and envoys from 11 core “Friends of Syria” alliance members, that included U.S. envoy Robert Ford, the top U.S. official handling the Syria file, the sources said.

Facing Russian and Chinese disapproval that could dampen prospects for proposed peace talks in Geneva, Assad's foes have vowed to punish a poison gas attack in some rebel-held districts of Damascus on Aug. 21 that killed hundreds.

U.N. experts trying to establish what exactly happened in the attack were finally able to cross the front line on Monday to see survivors - despite being shot at in government-held territory. But they put off a second visit until Wednesday.

Hundrads of American Troops and CIA Operatives Have Entered Syria

While the media panicked over the halting of NASDAQ stock trading due to a reported bug in the system (more on that shortly), one critical development went under-reported. In fact, it wasn’t reported at all.
If the following from France’s second largest newspaper Le Figaro is accurate, then we must assume that war is now a foregone conclusion.

According to our information, the regime’s opponents, supervised by Jordanian, Israeli and American commandos moving towards Damascus since mid-August. This attack could explain the possible use of the Syrian president to chemical weapons.
According to information obtained by Le Figaro , the first trained in guerrilla warfare by the Americans in Jordan Syrian troops reportedly entered into action since mid-August in southern Syria, in the region of Deraa. A first group of 300 men, probably supported by Israeli and Jordanian commandos, as well as men of the CIA, had crossed the border on August 17. A second would have joined the 19. According to military sources, the Americans, who do not want to put troops on the Syrian soil or arming rebels in part controlled by radical Islamists form quietly for several months in a training camp set up at the border Jordanian- Syrian fighters ASL, the Free Syrian Army, handpicked.
Translation via Zero Hedge

What’s equally as intriguing as boots on the ground inside of the Syrian border is the fact that these troops and intelligence officers reportedly made their way into the country on August 17th, fully four days before reports and images surfaced showing hundreds of men, women and children killed by a chemical weapons attack allegedly at the hands of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The purported attack, which some experts argue was a set-up, left even the pacifist government of France calling for military intervention. Furthermore, should UN investigators, who conveniently happen to be in-country investigating possible chemical weapons stockpiles, confirm that the attack did take place, then we can expect armed military confrontation in the middle east once again.
Of interest is also the fact the NASDAQ stock market exchange was halted today due to what NASDAQ officials call a technical glitch. Within hours of the ‘glitch’ cyber security experts suggested that this was no accident, but rather, a hack attack originating from the “hacking collective” known as the Cyber Fighters of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, an Iranian backed organization.
Earlier this week President Obama met with the heads of the Federal Reserve, the SEC, the FDIC and several other agencies responsible for monitoring and implementing U.S. financial, economic and monetary policy, indicating that there could be a serious crisis unfolding behind the scenes of our financial system. This comes on the heels of the Federal Reserve claiming that they would begin to “taper” the stimulus, a move that would likely send massive shock waves through domestic and global stock markets.
This is all speculation, of course, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that the US financial system is potentially on the brink of a massive re-collapse, while the Obama administration is actively engaging Syria in what we can only conclude will lead to a broader conflict in the middle east.
Throughout history governments have deflected blame for economic disasters by turning their efforts to a far off enemy and going to war. It’s certainly no accident and it’s a forecast that contrarian observers have made repeatedly as the global economic crisis deepened.
Is this what we’re seeing play out right now?
If so, then the implications are far reaching, because anyone who thinks this is going to be another Iraq are kidding themselves. This time, the Russians and the Chinese have a stake in the game, and they too have been positioning pieces on the Grand Chessboard. Not only have the Russians already advised western nations that the Syrians will be armed with weapons never before seen in the middle east, but they have warned that any military confrontation in the region could potentially go nuclear.
The question then becomes: who were the Russians talking about?
Syria doesn’t have nuclear weapons. Neither does Iran (at least not for a few more months if Israeli intelligence reports are to be believed).
But the United States, Israel, Russia and China do have nukes.
Thus, one can only conclude that the Russians were talking about a nuclear engagement between them… and us.
It’s a realistic possibility also put forth by survival specialist Joel Skousen in his documentary Strategic Relocation and a warning reiterated by a DHS Insider who claimed in June of 2013 that a World War was about to break out and would lead to the deaths of millions.
This is getting real folks. All signs point to a serious confrontation in our near future.
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American Attack on Syria Announced by Israeli Media

The banner above was the main headline of Yediot Ahronot—the largest paid Hebrew newspaper—on August 26, 2013. The text reads “On the Way to the Attack” and shows images of USA’s President Obama and Syria’s President Assad.
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Kerry: ‘Undeniable’ Syrian Regime Used Chemical Weapons Against Own People

Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that it is “undeniable” that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its own people.
Kerry’s comments come in response to a chemical attack that some Syrian activists say killed up to 1,300 people outside Damascus last week.
“What we saw in Syria last week should shock the conscience of the world,” Kerry stated.
Kerry railed against those that believed the Aug. 21 chemical attack was a fabricated event.
“Anyone who could claim that an attack of this staggering scale could be contrived or fabricated needs to check their conscience or their own moral compass,” Kerry said.
With Syrian government officials firing at United Nations investigators and not allowing them at the attack site, Kerry said that “it is too late” for President Bashar Assad’s regime to be credible and that they will be held accountable.
“Make no mistake, President Obama said there must be accountability for those who would use the world’s most heinous weapons against the world’s most vulnerable people,” Kerry said.
Kerry, who accused Assad of destroying evidence, added that the U.S. knows that the regime has the capability to carry out these types of attacks with the rockets they possess.
“What is before us today is real and it is compelling,” Kerry said. “Our understanding of what is already happened in Syria is grounded in facts, informed by conscience and guided by common sense.”
Kerry revealed that the Obama administration has been in close contact with Congress and that the president has reached out to allied worldwide about the situation.
Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad told The Associated Press that a strike against Syria would trigger worldwide “chaos.”
Earlier Monday the ranking Senate Foreign Relations Committee Republican urged a “surgical” U .S. air strike against Syria in reprisal for Bashar Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons.
Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee told NBC’s “Today” show that “I do think action is going to occur” militarily in response to the purported chemical weapons use last week in a Damascus suburb.
Corker said the Obama administration “feels like there’s no question chemicals were used” and says it is seeking to rally its NATO allies to support a military response.
He added, quote, “I think it should be surgical, it should be proportional. It should be responsive to what happened on the ground.”
But Corker also said, “I think we can get that right without us getting mired in a conflict.”
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, only 9 percent of Americans believe the U.S. should intervene in Syria militarily.
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Saudis Offer Russia Secret Oil Deal if it Drops Syria

Saudi Arabia has secretly offered Russian a sweeping deal to control the global oil market and safeguard Russia’s gas contracts, if the Kremlin backs away from the Assad regime in Syria.

The revelations come amid high tension in the Middle East, with US, British, and French warship poised for missile strikes in Syria. Iran has threatened to retaliate.

The strategic jitters pushed Brent crude prices to a five-month high of $112 a barrel. “We are only one incident away from a serious oil spike. The market is a lot tighter than people think,” said Chris Skrebowski, editor of Petroleum Review.

Leaked transcripts of a closed-door meeting between Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan shed an extraordinary light on the hard-nosed Realpolitik of the two sides.

Prince Bandar, head of Saudi intelligence, allegedly confronted the Kremlin with a mix of inducements and threats in a bid to break the deadlock over Syria. “Let us examine how to put together a unified Russian-Saudi strategy on the subject of oil. The aim is to agree on the price of oil and production quantities that keep the price stable in global oil markets,” he said at the four-hour meeting with Mr Putin. They met at Mr Putin’s dacha outside Moscow three weeks ago.

“We understand Russia’s great interest in the oil and gas in the Mediterranean from Israel to Cyprus. And we understand the importance of the Russian gas pipeline to Europe. We are not interested in competing with that. We can cooperate in this area,” he said, purporting to speak with the full backing of the US.

The talks appear to offer an alliance between the OPEC cartel and Russia, which together produce over 40m barrels a day of oil, 45pc of global output. Such a move would alter the strategic landscape.
The details of the talks were first leaked to the Russian press. A more detailed version has since appeared in the Lebanese newspaper As-Safir, which has Hezbollah links and is hostile to the Saudis.
As-Safir said Prince Bandar pledged to safeguard Russia’s naval base in Syria if the Assad regime is toppled, but he also hinted at Chechen terrorist attacks on Russia’s Winter Olympics in Sochi if there is no accord. “I can give you a guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics next year. The Chechen groups that threaten the security of the games are controlled by us,” he allegedly said.
Prince Bandar went on to say that Chechens operating in Syria were a pressure tool that could be switched on an off. “These groups do not scare us. We use them in the face of the Syrian regime but they will have no role in Syria’s political future.”
President Putin has long been pushing for a global gas cartel, issuing the `Moscow Declaration’ last to month “defend suppliers and resist unfair pressure”. This would entail beefing up the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), a talking shop.
Mr Skrebowski said it is unclear what the Saudis can really offer the Russians on gas, beyond using leverage over Qatar and others to cut output of liquefied natural gas (LGN). “The Qataris are not going to obey Saudi orders,” he said.
Saudi Arabia could help boost oil prices by restricting its own supply. This would be a shot in the arm for Russia, which is near recession and relies on an oil price near $100 to fund the budget.
But it would be a dangerous strategy for the Saudis if it pushed prices to levels that endangered the world’s fragile economic recovery. Crude oil stocks in the US have already fallen sharply this year. Goldman Sachs said the “surplus cushion” in global stocks built up since 2008 has been completely eliminated.
Mr Skrebowski said trouble is brewing in a string of key supply states. “Libya is reverting to war lordism. Nigerian is drifting into a bandit state with steady loss of output. And Iraq is going back to the sort of Sunni-Shia civil war we saw in 2006-2007,” he said.
The Putin-Bandar meeting was stormy, replete with warnings of a “dramatic turn” in Syria. Mr Putin was unmoved by the Saudi offer, though western pressure has escalated since then. “Our stance on Assad will never change. We believe that the Syrian regime is the best speaker on behalf of the Syrian people, and not those liver eaters,” he said, referring to footage showing a Jihadist rebel eating the heart and liver of a Syrian soldier.
Prince Bandar in turn warned that there can be “no escape from the military option” if Russia declines the olive branch. Events are unfolding exactly as he foretold.
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