Three Leaking Mustard Gas Shells Isolated At Pueblo Chemical Depot

A mustard gas leak discovered in early July at a storage facility for aging chemical weapons was cleaned up last week, the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot announced in a Monday news release.

Chemical crews transferred three leaking 155 mm steel shells into containers and moved them to a storage facility approved for over-packed, leaking munitions. The wine-bottle shaped shells are vulnerable to pressure changes that can cause them to leak.

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The Pueblo Chemical Depot is a complex of almost 100 underground igloos where a massive cache of World War II era chemical weapons from the Rocky Mountain Arsenal are stored until they can be destroyed, as required by the international Chemical Weapons Convention.

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http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_23949548/three-leaking-mustard-gas-shells-isolated-at-pueblo?source=rss

US Media ‘Beats The Drums Of War’

Does the “drum beat” for war come from the White House or from a media that just loves war? (Screenshot: Fox News)What the US media still doesn’t know about the use of chemical weapons in Syria last week has done little to keep it from accepting statements from the US government with barely a whiff of the skepticism one would expect after the colossal—and well-documented—media failure that preceded the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

And if there were voices cautioning against a volly of U.S./NATO airstrikes (note: there are), most media consumers scanning the front pages of top news websites wouldn’t know it.

Instead what they’d see if they looked at CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, the Huffington Post on Tuesday morning was not so much a US government on tapping the “drums of war” but a corporate media system banging on them.

CNN:

Fox News:

MSNBC:

Huffington Post:

Similarly, as FireDogLake’s Kevin Gosztola cataloged, the editorial boards from some of the largest US newspapers penned editorials that somewhat unanimously supported direct military action by the US. Despite the continued lack of concrete evidence about the details of the chemical attack, Gosztola continued his critique of mainstream outlets by noting how the troubling trend was

further proven by the round of reports in US media [Sunday], which granted an Obama administration official anonymity to say there was “very little doubt” that chemical weapons had been used by the Syrian regime against civilians. Such a statement could easily help increase public and political support for military action yet the media did not force the person to go on the record and give his or her name if the administration wanted such a statement to be published.

Following Right-Wing Attacks, Museum Seeks To Cancel 'Right Of Return Conference'

An international conference by Zochrot, an Israeli NGO which focuses on the Nakba and the “right of return,” is under threat, following pressure from right-wing organizations.

The Eretz Israel Museum, where Zochrot decided to host the event, has recently informed organizers that due to the risk of demonstrations and public disorder, they will need to pay for increased, onsite security. The museum management has also demanded that the name “Al-Shaykh Muwannis” mentioned next to the museum’s name in the event invitations be removed.

“Al-Shaykh Muwannis” is a Palestinian village that was located in what is today’s north Tel Aviv, and which stood where the museum and the Tel Aviv University are currently located.

The conference, titled “From Truth to Redress” is due to take place on September 29-30. The museum has informed Zochrot that the event will be canceled, should the organization not meet the new requirements. In response, Attorney Michael Sfard sent a letter on behalf of Zochrot to the museum, stating that backing away from the agreement would be “an illegal act” and “would constitute intellectual and ideological discrimination.”

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http://972mag.com/following-right-wing-attacks-museum-seeks-to-cancel-right-of-return-conference/77969/

Syrian Kurdish Leader Doubts Assad Would Be 'So Stupid' As To Carry Out Gas Attack

BERLIN | Tue Aug 27, 2013 10:59am EDT

(Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would not be "so stupid" as to use chemical weapons close to Damascus, the leader of the country's largest Kurdish group said.

Saleh Muslim, head of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), said he doubted the Syrian president would resort to using such weapons when he felt he had the upper hand in the country's civil war.

He suggested last Wednesday's attack, which the opposition says was carried out by government forces and killed hundreds of people, was aimed at framing Assad and provoking an international reaction. Assad has denied his forces used chemical weapons.

"The regime in Syria ... has chemical weapons, but they wouldn't use them around Damascus, 5 km from the (U.N.) committee which is investigating chemical weapons. Of course they are not so stupid as to do so," Muslim told Reuters.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/27/us-syria-crisis-kurds-idUSBRE97Q0LP20130827

Arab Allies Withhold Public Support for U.S. Strike on Syria

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and NOUR MALAS in Amman, Jordan

The U.S. is moving toward possible military strikes against Syria without the public support of any major Arab ally, reflecting broad unease in the region about another Western military intervention.

The lack of public endorsement from Arab governments, even from Saudi Arabia and other countries that have helped arm, train and fund rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad leaves the West with little political cover regionally should any Western-led attack go badly.

Arab League delegates on Tuesday urged the United Nations Security Council, rather than the West, to take "deterrent" action against Syria to prevent a repeat of alleged chemical attacks on Aug. 21 in the suburbs of Damascus. In Cairo, Egypt Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy appeared to side against intervention, saying on Tuesday, "The solution for Syria must be diplomatic, not militaristic."

While senior Saudi officials have been urging the U.S. and others behind the scenes to support tougher action in Syria, Arab leaders for more than a year have publicly maintained that any international military action there should be sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council, where Russia and China have blocked action.

In an atmosphere poisoned by persistent violence in Iraq 10 years after the U.S. invasion there, and by top-level disputes between the U.S. and its Mideast allies over the international response to revolutions in Egypt and elsewhere, the Arab world at large is split over whether the West should intervene.

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324906304579038910953494966.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories

For Israel, U.S. Response On Syria May Be Harbinger On Iran

TEL AVIV (JTA) —

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In Jerusalem, Washington’s resolve in Syria is seen as a crucial litmus test for its readiness to confront another looming Mideast showdown over unconventional weapons.

“[Syrian President Bashar] Assad’s regime has become a full Iranian client and Syria has become Iran’s testing ground,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday following a meeting with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. “Now the whole world is watching. Iran is watching and it wants to see what would be the reaction on the use of chemical weapons.”

--CLIP
The prospect of a nuclear Iran is viewed with much greater concern in Israel, though Obama has declined to establish any similar red lines even as he has sought to assure Israel that he is not making empty threats about preventing Iran’s acquisition of a nuclear weapon.

American action in Syria might be enough to persuade Netanyahu the Americans are serious about Iran, Zisser said. But Netanyahu’s comments at his weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday suggested that Israel is prepared to take action on its own.

“The most dangerous regimes in the world must not be allowed to possess the most dangerous weapons in the world,” Netanyahu said. “Our finger must always be on the pulse. Ours is a responsible finger and if necessary, it will also be on the trigger.”

Read more: http://www.jta.org/2013/08/26/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/for-israel-u-s-response-on-syria-is-harbinger-on-iran#ixzz2dCjdV43n

VP Biden Says No Doubt Syrian Regime Responsible For ‘Heinous’ Chemical Weapons Attack

Source: Associated Press

HOUSTON — Vice President Joe Biden says there is no doubt that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s (bah-SHAR’ AH’-sahd) government is responsible for the heinous use of chemical weapons.

Biden’s comments Tuesday make him the highest-ranking U.S. official to say the Syrian regime is the culprit in a large-scale chemical weapons attack on Aug. 21.

Biden says the Syrian government is the only actor in the 2-year civil war that possesses and can deliver chemical weapons. He says Assad has blocked U.N. investigators from the site and has been bombing it for days.

The White House says President Barack Obama hasn’t settled on how to respond to the attack. The Pentagon says U.S. military forces are ready to strike Syria if Obama gives the order.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/vp-biden-says-no-doubt-syrian-regime-responsible-for-heinous-chemical-weapons-attack/2013/08/27/913ab56a-0f52-11e3-a2b3-5e107edf9897_story.html

Palestinian Family Whose Jerusalem Home Was Demolished Moves Into A Cave

BY ALON BERNSTEIN, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AUGUST 27, 2013 1:02

JERUSALEM - For much of the past seven years, Khalid Zir and his family called a makeshift tin shack in the east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan home. But now that Israeli authorities have demolished the hut, Zir has become even more desperate.

With no other housing options, Zir, his wife and five children have gathered their belongings and moved into a cave that used to serve as the family's stable.

"My house was demolished, and I was obliged to live here because I did not have any place to go to," said Zir, a 39-year-old maintenance worker. "I wanted to rent a house but there are no houses here for rent, because there are no licenses for us Arabs to build."

The family's odd plight highlights the tricky issue of home demolitions in east Jerusalem, the Palestinians' hoped-for capital. Israel says the matter is merely one of law and order and that it was the Jerusalem municipality's responsibility to crack down on zoning violations and illegal building. The local Arabs, however, see a more sinister agenda aimed at preventing them from growing while nearby Jewish settlements continue to expand.

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http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/world/Palestinian+family+whose+Jerusalem+home+demolished+moves+into/8839052/story.html

Israelis Jittery Over Syria, Stock Up On Gas Masks

JERUSALEM — More than 1 million Israeli children started their first day of school Tuesday as Israel waited to see whether the United States would attack Syria over chemical weapons, and whether the Jewish state would pay a price for it.

Schools held outdoor welcoming ceremonies despite the gathering signs that the United States and its allies will strike at President Bashar Assad militarily for his alleged gassing of his people to halt a rebellion.

Some Israelis said they were jittery, and there has been a run on gas masks in recent days. The Israeli army said it was making preparations for possible attacks, and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange dropped amid war fears.

Yet supermarkets, restaurants, theaters and beaches are as lively as ever, and even in the north, which has been hit by missiles in the past, the many inns that cater to tourists saw no drop in travelers.

"This is Israel," said Adi Lipkin, a high school teacher shopping for a hat in a Jerusalem clothing store. "There's a crisis every couple of years, so we don't get worked up until there's really something to worry about."

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http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/08/27/israel-syria-gas-masks-preparations/2707731/

Israel Asks US for Warning Before Attack on Syria

Israel has asked the United States to give it advance notice of any strike it may launch against Syria. The request was presented by outgoing National Security Advisor, Major General (res.) Yaakov Amidror in his meeting Monday evening with his U.S. counterpart, Susan Rice.

The request apparently indicates that Jerusalem sees a U.S. attack on Israel's northeastern neighbor as an imminent likelihood.

Amidror also reportedly discussed unspecified Israeli concerns regarding a U.S. attack in Syria.

The meeting between Amidror and Rice is a direct continuation of a series of meetings between the top echelons of the defense establishments of Israel and the U.S., in advance of a possible U.S. strike on Syria.

The talks between Amidror and Rice centered on "Iran, Egypt, Syria, and a range of other regional security issues," said U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden, according to AFP.

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http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/171327#.Uhz6AztOZJE