Syria - Allied Troops Ready For Intervention

... latest news ...	... public version of U.S. intelligence report released ...
Government Assessment of the Syrian Government’s Use of Chemical Weapons on August 21, 2013

Last Update: August 30 (further down)

This morning, August 28, the Jordanian daily Al-Medina المدينة reported about the practical steps of preparation for an intervention in Syria after the confirmed use of chemical weapons against civilians there. According to Al-Medina, ten national armies should participate in that enterprise "including U.S., British, French, Italian, German, Canadian, Jordanian and Turkish troops" «أمريكا وبريطانيا وفرنسا وإيطاليا وألمانيا وكندا والأردن وتركيا». Their commanders are known to have left the Jordanian capital of Amman yesterday, August 27, after a conference with Jordanian officials. The paper is quoting Jordan's foreign minister Nasser Judeh as saying "The conference discussed the Syrian [subject]" «الاجتماع ناقش الملف السوري».


Michelle and Barack Obama
meeting with Nasser Judeh

التزام أمريكي بحماية الأردن.. وتأهيل جيش سوري "جديد" بدون "إسلاميين"ـ
عجلة الحرب تدور وقادة الجيوش الـ10 غادروا عمان

America [dashing forward] with Jordanian protection ... and a [trained] "new" Syrian army without "Islamists".

With pressure towards war [on all sides], the commanders of the ten armies are leaving Amman.




..............................

Today, China's semi-official People's Network comes with the following headline:

美国政府人士：对叙利亚精确空中打击或周四进行

U.S. government official [says] a precise air-strike against Syria will probably be conducted on Thursday [i.e. tomorrow, August 29].




The Chinese source is quoting a Russian news network that referred to U.S. radio / TV news from NBC dating back to Tuesday, August 27, 2013.

Today, August 28, German news channel N24 reported that UN inspectors in Syria claimed to need another 3-4 days in their search of evidence.




أمريكا تضرب سوريا الخميس ليلا، ومسؤول سوري يهدد بإشعال تل أبيب ردا على الضربة

America will strike Syria on Thursday night [i.e. August 29]. The responsible one in Syria is threatening to set Tel Aviv ablaze as an answer to that blow.




ضربة عقابية محدودة أو ضربة واسعة لأسقاط النظام : سيناريوهات الضربة العسكرية المتوقعة ضد النظام السوري

A limited penalty strike or an extended strike to abolish the regime:
The probable scenarios of a military strike [directed] against the Syrian regime.

[Source: Donia Al-Watan دنيا الوطن, Ramallah / Palestine, on August 28, 2013]




مشروع قرار بريطاني للتحرك في سوريا أمام مجلس الأمن.. والجيش التركي يرفع درجة التأهب

Britain's fixed plan for moving into Syria before the [UN] security council ...
and the Turkish army is raising [its] grade of preparation [or: alert].

[Source: Asharq Al-Awsat / The Middle East الشرق الأوسط on August 28, 2013]




مصدر رسمى امريكى:ضرب سوريا اليوم الخميس ويستمر ثلاثة ايام

Official U.S. source: The strike against Syria will take place today, Thursday, and will continue for three days.

The Palestinian article is still referring to NBC News like the Russian news network that has been quoted by People's Network, Beijing, the day before.

[Source: Al-Fajer Al-Jadeed TV تلفزيون الفجر الجديد, Tulkarm / Palestine, on Thursday, August 29, 2013]



Syria's prime minister Wael al-Halki

رئيس وزراء سوريا يدعو "لاستنفار الطاقات الوطنية" في حال التعرض لهجوم امريكي

Syria's prime minister is calling for the " mobilisation of national powers " in case of [facing] an American attack.

[Source: Reuters رويترز, Beirut, on August 29, 2013]

..............................

Please Note:

The above information, published in Arabic and Chinese media on Aug. 28/29, is somehow contrasting with rather "soothing" declarations in Western media from the same day. Such declarations are saying that Britain will "abstain from intervention as long as UN inspectors are engaged" in their search for evidence, that Obama is "still not decided" and that German chancellor Merkel is "promoting a political solution" to the problem.
However, military preparations being such far developed and counter measures of the Syrian regime like the deplacement of certain military units being under way, one might come to think that there is even much more trouble hidden under the surface of the Syrian conflict than already known by a global community of observers. - Ulysses, August 28/29 -


The Situation on August 30:
- It's Only Just Begun ! -


Obama decided to strike Syria, even single-sided if necessary,
however, it's the Congress and the Senate he has to convince.


With the British ally paddling back after PM Cameron's defeat in parliament
yesterday, joint military action will now become more difficult for the U.S. ...


... while a brandnew U.S. opinion poll is not in favor of U.S. military
involved in Syria in a general way. However there's a difference ...


... when it comes to the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime.
And there seems to be clear evidence of that from phone interception.

..............................

Comment by Ulysses:

As to the alleged participation of German troops in the intervention, I have some second thoughts. If such participation was not based on definite rules, compulsory for each member of the North Atlantic Pact or in the frame of the non-proliferation treaty for chemical weapons, I could not see any automatic obligation for German troops to participate in such intervention. In all other cases, German parliament would have to provide a majority in favor of the intervention which I doubt would happen in the actual situation and only some weeks before federal elections in Germany. This would weaken the governing parties and strengthen all opposing groups in parliament. However, an informal participation of German troop commanders in preparation talks as well as some remote logistic support (i.e. air traffic control) could be expected. - Ulysses, August 28/29 -

..............................

Choice of visitors to "blueprint news" on August 28, 2013, and who could be located by a country tag in their web address:



Visitor interested in Syria and who came from Anchorage / Alaska:



Visitor interested in Syria and who came from New Delhi / India:



Visitor interested in Syria and who came from Manaus / Brazil:



Visitor interested in Syria and who came from Ho Chi Minh City / Vietnam:

Syria - Red Line Crossed

Last Update: August 27




Following eyewitness accounts and videos from Syria, the international community is shocked by what seems to prove the application of nerve gas Sarin by troops of the Assad regime. The West now feels obliged to stop the use of chemical weapons against civilians, however, the situation is more complicated than it looks at first sight.



Above picture from Syrian video showing victims of chemical attack.

According to Al-Jazeera, a UN commission has now been allowed
to enter the site of the chemical attack. That commission is already
in Damascus for talks with Syrian government on the issue. British
government circles, however, are saying that main evidence should
have already been destroyed. [Al-Jazeera / English, on August 25]

According to CNN, UN inspectors were targeted by snipers on their
inspection tour, even though government and opposition forces had
declared to support their mission. [CNN mobile news, on August 26]


Above picture from an article about Free Army reports of rocket attacks using Sarin.
Article published by The Yemen Economist الاقتصادي اليمني on August 24, 2013.

..............................



حقيقة الخيارات المحتملة لتدخل عسكري في سوريا,,,ـ

Headline:
The reality of probable options for a military intervention in Syria ...

ذكرت وكالة الصحافة الفرنسية أن الولايات المتحدة وحلفائها الغربيين يواجهون ضغوطاً متزايدة تدعو إلى التحرك لوقف العنف في سوريا، واشتدت هذه الضغوط إثر اتهام المعارضة النظام بشن هجوم كيماوي أوقع بحسب المعلومات أكثر من 1300 قتيل.ـ

The French press agency quoted that the United States and their Western allies are facing increasing pressure [calling for] an interruption of violence in Syria. That pressure has intensified after the opposition accused the system of having launched a chemical attack which caused the death of more than 1.300 of the [notifying] party.

غير أن المخاوف تبقى قائمة لدى السلطات والرأي العام من الانجرار إلى حرب جديدة في الشرق الأوسط والاضطرار إلى إرسال قوات على الأرض، وهو ما تُجمع واشنطن وباريس على استبعاده بشكل قاطع.ـ

Without dangers remaining permanent for the authorities, public opinion [is attracted by] a new war in the Middle East and the obligation of a global deployment of troops. That is what makes Washington and Paris unite in a categoric denial.

وإزاء هذا الوضع تواجه الأسرة الدولية سيناريوات مختلفة لتدخل عسكري في سوريا تتراوح بين القضاء على ترسانة النظام من الأسلحة الكيماوية وإقامة منطقة حظر جوي، غير أنها تنطوي جميعها على عواقب ومخاطر تثنيها منذ أكثر من سنتين عن التدخل.ـ

In the presence of such situation, the national [also: international] family is facing a variety of scenarios for a military intervention in Syria, alternating between the judgement [or rather: annihilation] of the regime's [leadership] [on the subject of] chemical weapons and the installation of a regional air defense [system]. However, every [action] includes its consequences and the risks of [an unpleasant change] lasting more years than the intervention.

[Source: General Organization of Radio and TV - Syria الهيئة العامة للإذاعة والتلفزيون - سورية on August 24, 2013]


CNN on August 24: Iran blames opposition, warns against intervention,
and, by the way, actual U.S. - Russian relations aren't to good either ...



..............................



Here is a related article discussing Israel's position in the chemical weapons affair. It has been written by Jacky Hugi, an Arab affairs analyst for Israel's army radio Galie-Zahal, a columnist for the business newspaper Globes and the former Arab Affairs correspondent for Maariv:
Israel Urged to Speak Out Against Chemical Weapons Use in Syria



..............................



كتيبة مدرّبة في الأردن دخلت سوريا قبل يومين من المجزرة
لوفيغارو: الأسد استعان بغاز سارين لصد هجوم غربي... والمعارضة تنفي

A battalion trained in Jordan entered into Syria two days before the massacre.
Le Figaro: "Al-Assad resorts to Sarin gas to reject a Western attack ... and the
opposition [makes profit from it]."

Quotation of the French paper "Le Figaro" by the independent Arabic news portal Elaph إيلاف on August 24, 2013. The French article, published on August 22, refers to a specially trained Syrian opposition unit that entered into Syria under the guidance of U.S., Israeli and Jordanian troops some days ago.



Operation Anti-Assad Has Begun

According to our informations, Syrian opposition [fighters],
embedded into Jordanian, Israeli and American commandos,
are advancing towards Damascus since the middle of August.
That offensive might explain the possible resort to chemical
weapons by the Syrian president. [Info Le Figaro, August 22]

..............................


[Opinion Trend] of the Egyptian People

التيار الشعبي: تلويح أمريكا بالعدوان على سوريا مخطط لـ"تقسيم الدول العربية وإضعاف جيوشها"ـ

Trend of the People:
America's signal of hostility towards Syria is planning " the division of Arab nations and the weakening of their armies ".

[Source: Al-Ahram الاهرام, Cairo, on August 26, 2013]

مسؤول أمريكي: «أوباما» لم يقرر تحركا عسكريا ضد سوريا وسيكون محدودا

U.S. official: Obama has not [yet] decided in favor of some military action against Syria and
which should [even more] be limited.

[Source: Egypt Today مصر اليوم on August 27, 2013]

..............................

A choice of recent visitors to "blueprint news":

Egypt's difficult approach to democracy from the Islamic district of Cairo ...



Search for the "devil within" at the University of Swaziland (East Africa) ...



Refreshing studies at the University of the South Pacific (Fiji) ...



Japan's latest territorial claims observed from Pearl Harbor (Hawaii) ...

Egypt - Mediator Needed

Yesterday, August 17, Al-Jazeera reported on both channels in Arabic and English about further clashes between security forces and pro-Morsy demonstrators in the frame of a military clearing of Cairo's Al-Fatah Mosque from opponents of the new Egyptian administration.



قوات الأمن المصرية تقتحم مسجد الفتح في القاهرة

Egyptian security forces are entering Al-Fatah Mosque in Cairo.
[Above image: Soldiers aiming at snipers on top of the minaret.]

While the Arabic program offered lots of pictures showing some kind of civil war scenario, Al-Jazeera's English program brought an interview with Fawaz Gerges, a London based expert for the Middle East:



Gerges underlined that no neutral party could be found in Egypt today, able to assume the task of mediating between the rivalling groups. Therefore, it would make sense to employ influential foreign governments. As the U.S. have lost much credit in the Middle East, the European Union might take over to unite pro- and contra-Morsy groups in serious negotiations. Namely Europe's special envoy, Catherine Ashton, could then play a decisive role in trying to smoothe tensions within a deeply divided Egyptian society and promote decisive talks between the main opponents.

This, however, is contested by other spectators of the proceedings as Egypt News - ENN had already pointed out in their article on August 1st, 2013.



ـ“صحف أوروبية”: أشتون وسيط غير فعال بين الأطراف المتنازعة في مصر

"European Media": Ashton [is] an inefficient mediator between the rivalling parties in Egypt.

Egypt - The Day After

After the military clearance of camps installed by pro-Morsy demonstrators on public places, here is what Al-Arabiya TV, Dubai, wrote on their website the day after, August 15, 2013:

مشاعر قلق تخيم على البلاد ما دفع معظم المصريين إلى أخذ ما يشبه العطلة الاختيارية

Troubled feelings ruling over the [townships] is what the majority of Egyptians has led to the [acception] of what resembles an absence of options.

ذكر التلفزيون المصري، اليوم الخميس، أن الفريق أول عبدالفتاح السيسي، وزير الدفاع، وجه الهيئة الهندسية بإجراء كل الإصلاحات بمسجد رابعة العدوية الذي لحقت به أضرار في اشتباكات أمس، فضلاً عن المصالح الحكومية والمنشآت المتضررة، وإعادة الميدان إلى طبيعته بمشاركة القوات المسلحة

Today, Thursday [15] , Egypt's [state] TV reminded that the first group of Abdulfatah Assisi, minister of defense, instructed the engineering corps with the execution of all repairs on the fourth mosque [where hostilities] inflicted damages during yesterday's fightings, not to speak of government offices and damaged institutions [or: enterprises] as well as the restauration of the original character of public place[s] with the contribution of the armed forces.



..............................


Above: Turkey's ambassador to Egypt.



استدعت تركيا سفيرها في مصر من أجل التشاور، حسب ما أعلنت وزارة الخارجية التركية، وذلك بعد أن فضت قوات الأمن المظاهرات المؤيدة للرئيس المعزول محمد مرسي

Turkey recalled its ambassador to Egypt for consultations according to an announcement of the Turkish ministry of foreign affairs. [This happened] after security forces broke up demonstrations in favour of [deposed / isolated] president Mohammad Morsy.

[Source: Al-Ahram الأهرام, Cairo, quoting the French news agency AFP on August 16, 2013]

Yemen - Business as Usual

Last Update: August 13

Despite U.S. fears of an immediate Al-Qaeda attack in Yemen or Pakistan and that should be targeting foreign diplomats, nothing really surprising has happened up to now. Even though terrorist operations against U.S. and allied embassy staff might be expected as a possible retaliation for recent drone attacks against Al-Qaeda activists in Yemen and Northern Pakistan, the following report is rather showing that Al-Qaeda is following their " business as usual ":

أفادت الأنباء الواردة من اليمن بمقتل 5 جنود وإصابة آخرين في هجوم شنه مسلحون على نقطة سيطرة قرب منشأة بلحاف لانتاج الغاز الطبيعي في محافظة شبوة جنوب شرقي البلاد

Informations from Yemen are indicating that 5 soldiers have been killed and 2 others wounded in an armed attack launched against some checkpoint ..... in the South-Eastern part of the country.

ونقل مراسل بي بي سي في صنعاء عبد الله غراب عن مصدر أمني قوله إن الهجوم يحمل بصمات تنظيم القاعدة

According to BBC reporter Abdullah Gharab in Sanaa, a security source told him the attack is bearing the footprint of Al-Qaeda organization.

[Source: BBC Arabic on August 11, 2013]



ـ38 من عناصر القاعدة قتلوا في اليمن بتسع غارات شنتها طائرات من دون طيار

38 Yemenite members of Al-Qaeda died in nine [air] raids when
unmanned planes were launched. [Al-Jazeera Arabic, August 12]

..............................

Update for August 13:



اليمن يتحول إلى مركز دولي لمواجهة «القاعدة»ـ

Yemen is turning into an international
center of confrontation with Al-Qaeda.

[Al-Bayan البيان, Dubai, August 13]

..............................

Country related visitor statistics for "blueprint news", covering the time before and after a maintenance break which was needed to improve information access to earlier blogspots: