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Hissyspit's JournalPentagon Is Ordered to Expand Potential Targets in Syria With a Focus on Forces
Source: New York Times
Pentagon Is Ordered to Expand Potential Targets in Syria With a Focus on Forces
By DAVID E. SANGER and ERIC SCHMITT
Published: September 5, 2013
WASHINGTON — President Obama has directed the Pentagon to develop an expanded list of potential targets in Syria in response to intelligence suggesting that the government of President Bashar al-Assad has been moving troops and equipment used to employ chemical weapons while Congress debates whether to authorize military force.
Mr. Obama, officials said, is now determined to put more emphasis on the “degrade” part of what the administration has said is the goal of a military strike against Syria — to “deter and degrade” Mr. Assad’s ability to use chemical weapons. That means expanding beyond the 50 or so major sites that were part of the original target list developed with French forces before Mr. Obama delayed action on Saturday to seek Congressional approval of his plan.
For the first time, the administration is talking about using American and French aircraft to conduct strikes on specific targets, in addition to ship-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles. There is a renewed push to get other NATO forces involved.
The strikes would be aimed not at the chemical stockpiles themselves — risking a potential catastrophe — but rather the military units that have stored and prepared the chemical weapons and carried the attacks against Syrian rebels, as well as the headquarters overseeing the effort, and the rockets and artillery that have launched the attacks, military officials said Thursday.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/world/middleeast/pentagon-is-ordered-to-expand-potential-targets-in-syria-with-a-focus-on-forces.html
Poll: Majority Of Americans Approve Of Sending Congress To Syria
http://www.theonion.com/articles/poll-majority-of-americans-approve-of-sending-cong,33752Poll: Majority Of Americans Approve Of Sending Congress To Syria
EWS • Syria • News • ISSUE 49•36 • Sep 5, 2013
WASHINGTON—As President Obama continues to push for a plan of limited military intervention in Syria, a new poll of Americans has found that though the nation remains wary over the prospect of becoming involved in another Middle Eastern war, the vast majority of U.S. citizens strongly approve of sending Congress to Syria.
The New York Times/CBS News poll showed that though just 1 in 4 Americans believe that the United States has a responsibility to intervene in the Syrian conflict, more than 90 percent of the public is convinced that putting all 535 representatives of the United States Congress on the ground in Syria—including Senate pro tempore Patrick Leahy, House Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and, in fact, all current members of the House and Senate—is the best course of action at this time.
“I believe it is in the best interest of the United States, and the global community as a whole, to move forward with the deployment of all U.S. congressional leaders to Syria immediately,” respondent Carol Abare, 50, said in the nationwide telephone survey, echoing the thoughts of an estimated 9 in 10 Americans who said they “strongly support” any plan of action that involves putting the U.S. House and Senate on the ground in the war-torn Middle Eastern state. “With violence intensifying every day, now is absolutely the right moment—the perfect moment, really—for the United States to send our legislators to the region.”
“In fact, my preference would have been for Congress to be deployed months ago,” she added.
Citing overwhelming support from the international community—including that of the Arab League, Turkey, and France, as well as Great Britain, Iraq, Iran, Russia, Japan, Mexico, China, and Canada, all of whom are reported to be unilaterally in favor of sending the U.S. Congress to Syria—the majority of survey respondents said they believe the United States should refocus its entire approach to Syria’s civil war on the ground deployment of U.S. senators and representatives, regardless of whether the Assad regime used chemical weapons or not.
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Breaking: U.S. Senate Panel passes Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Syria
Source: Reuters
@Reuters: RT @ReutersPolitics: U.S. Senate panel passes authorization for use of military force in Syria by 10-7 vote http://t.co/GZdxouDEVf
Senate Panel Authorizes Limited Military Strike in Syria
By Kathleen Hunter and Laura Litvan
September 04, 2013 3:30 PM EDT
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to authorize President Barack Obama to conduct a limited U.S. military operation in Syria, the first step toward congressional endorsement of the effort.
The resolution, approved 10-7, supports use of force in a “limited and specified manner against legitimate military targets” during a 60-day period following enactment, with a possible 30-day extension at Obama’s request. The resolution doesn’t authorize use of U.S. ground troops in combat.
Senators voting against the measure were Democrats Tom Udall of New Mexico and Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and Republicans James Risch of Idaho, Marco Rubio of Florida, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and John Barrasso of Wyoming. Senator Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, voted “present.”
The committee vote clears the way for consideration by the full Senate. Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said that will begin Sept. 9 when Congress officially reconvenes after a five-week break.
Read more: http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-04/senate-panel-authorizes-limited-military-strike-in-syria.html
AG: Govt Won't Enforce Same-Sex Veterans Law
Source: Associated Press
AG: GOVT WON'T ENFORCE SAME-SEX VETERANS LAW
Sep. 4 3:10 PM EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration says it will stop enforcing a law that blocks benefits to partners of military veterans in same-sex marriages.
In a letter to congressional leaders, Attorney General Eric Holder says that a provision in federal law on benefits to veterans and their families defines "spouse" to mean a person of the opposite sex. He says that definition leaves out legally married same-sex couples, and runs afoul of a Supreme Court ruling last June.
The court declared unconstitutional a provision in the Defense of Marriage Act restricting the words marriage and spouse to apply only to heterosexual unions. Holder says that like the Defense of Marriage Act, the provision in the veterans benefits law has the effect of placing lawfully married same-sex couples in a second-tier marriage.
Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ag-govt-wont-enforce-same-sex-veterans-law
Chelsea Manning Seeks Presidential Pardon
Source: Associated Press
CHELSEA MANNING SEEKS PRESIDENTIAL PARDON
By DAVID DISHNEAU
— Sep. 4 8:58 AM EDT
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) — Army Pvt. Chelsea Manning is seeking a presidential pardon for leaking reams of classified information that her lawyer says did not merit protection.
The Pvt. Manning Support Network released documents Wednesday that defense attorney David Coombs filed a day earlier with the U.S. Justice Department and the Department of the Army.
Manning, previously known as Bradley Manning, has declared her desire to live as a woman while serving a 35-year prison sentence at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
In her petition for pardon and commutation of sentence, Manning writes: "The decisions I made in 2010 were made out of a concern for my country and the world that we live in."
Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/chelsea-manning-seeks-presidential-pardon
Egypt Shuts Down Four TV Stations (Including Al Jazeera Egypt)
Source: BBC News
Egyptian court orders closure of four TV channels, including Al-Jazeera Egypt and a Muslim Brotherhood station
More to follow.
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23941208
Russia Says Ballistic 'Objects' Fired in Mediterranean (No Report of Strikes)
Source: Reuters
@Reuters: Ballistic objects detected by Russia fell into sea: RIA http://t.co/oUClR1Gviy
@AP: Russian reports say 2 missiles fired in the Mediterranean; no reports of strikes: http://t.co/QDAnVlrqkr
m.twitter.com/AP
@BreakingNews: Russian defense ministry says it has detected 2 ballistic objects fired toward eastern Mediterranean - RIA via @Reuters, @RT_com
Russia says ballistic 'objects' fired in Mediterranean
Tue Sep 3, 2013 5:05am EDT
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian radar detected two ballistic "objects" that were fired towards the eastern Mediterranean from the central part of the sea on Tuesday, state-run news agency RIA quoted the Defense Ministry as saying.
The Defense Ministry declined immediate comment to Reuters. A ministry official had earlier criticized the United States for deploying warships in the Mediterranean close to Syria.
(Writing by Steve Gutterman, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE9820AC20130903
McClatchy: To Some, U.S. Case for Syrian Gas Attack and Need For Strike Has Too Many Holes
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/09/02/201027/to-some-us-case-for-syrian-gas.html#emlnl=Daily_News_UpdatePosted on Monday, September 2, 2013
To some, US case for Syrian gas attack and need for strike has too many holes
By Hannah Allam and Mark Seibel | McClatchy Washington Bureau
- snip -
The case Secretary of State John Kerry laid out last Friday contained claims that were disputed by the United Nations, inconsistent in some details with British and French intelligence reports or lacking sufficient transparency for international chemical weapons experts to accept at face value.
After the false weapons claims preceding the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the threshold for evidence to support intervention is exceedingly high. And while there’s little dispute that a chemical agent was used in an Aug. 21 attack outside of Damascus – and probably on a smaller scale before that – there are calls from many quarters for independent, scientific evidence to support the U.S. narrative that the Assad regime used sarin gas in an operation that killed 1,429 people, including more than 400 children.
Some of the U.S. points in question:
- The Obama administration dismissed the value of a U.N. inspection team’s work by saying that the investigators arrived too late for the findings to be credible and wouldn’t provide any information the United State didn’t already have.
- U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq countered that it was “rare” for such an investigation to begin within such a short time and said that “the passage of such few days does not affect the opportunities to collect valuable samples,” according to the U.N.’s website. For example, Haq added, sarin can be detected in biomedical samples for months after its use.
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McClatchy: To Some, U.S. Case for Syrian Gas Attack and Need For Strike Has Too Many Holes
Source: McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Monday, September 2, 2013
To some, US case for Syrian gas attack and need for strike has too many holes
By Hannah Allam and Mark Seibel | McClatchy Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s public case for attacking Syria is riddled with inconsistencies and hinges mainly on circumstantial evidence, undermining U.S. efforts this week to build support at home and abroad for a punitive strike against Bashar Assad’s regime.
- snip -
After the false weapons claims preceding the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the threshold for evidence to support intervention is exceedingly high. And while there’s little dispute that a chemical agent was used in an Aug. 21 attack outside of Damascus – and probably on a smaller scale before that – there are calls from many quarters for independent, scientific evidence to support the U.S. narrative that the Assad regime used sarin gas in an operation that killed 1,429 people, including more than 400 children.
Some of the U.S. points in question:
- The Obama administration dismissed the value of a U.N. inspection team’s work by saying that the investigators arrived too late for the findings to be credible and wouldn’t provide any information the United State didn’t already have.
- U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq countered that it was “rare” for such an investigation to begin within such a short time and said that “the passage of such few days does not affect the opportunities to collect valuable samples,” according to the U.N.’s website. For example, Haq added, sarin can be detected in biomedical samples for months after its use.
Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/09/02/201027/to-some-us-case-for-syrian-gas.html#emlnl=Daily_News_Update
Robert Reich: Celebrate Labor on Labor Day
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