Saturday, August 31, 2013

I told you already that he decided to go to war...

I told everyone he has already made up his mind, and he wants to go to war. ... Okay... I'll start the debate.... What happen to the United Nations, and it's authority to deal with this issue? 

It is right for a super power to act against the will of the people (majority of the people don't want the US to go to war in Syria / take on a war... as it underscore the UN (what about UN findings? Why can't Obama state his case to the world/ UN ... Will he wait until after Sept. 9 ... To start another 9/11 world War 3?

What happens if Congress fails to pass this action? (Clearly this is going outside the scope of the UN) 
Just for the record. 

Regardless ... I am still saying a war is coming, according to what I foreseen ...   as Israel is being surrounded by armies ... and it's fate is already written. 


Obama gambles on getting Congress to green-light war with Syria
 Olivier Knox, Yahoo! News 

In a legacy-defining gamble, President Barack Obama announced Saturday that he has decided to launch military strikes against Syria — but wants the Congress to authorize them. 

“In a world with many dangers, this menace must be confronted,” Obama declared in the Rose Garden 10 days after Bashar Assad’s forces allegedly massacred 1,400 civilians with chemical weapons.

“After careful deliberation, I have decided that the United States should take military action against Syrian regime targets,” he said, describing himself as “prepared to give that order.”

The president’s hastily arranged remarks — demonstrators protesting outside the White House gates could be heard from the West Wing only minutes before he spoke — sucked the urgency out of what had looked like a imminent military strike.

Instead, cruise missile-carrying warships off Syria’s coast will have to wait until the week of Sept. 9. That’s when Congress returns from a month-long vacation to take up a measure, drafted by the White House, giving Obama the green-light.

“I’m the president of the world’s oldest constitutional democracy," Obama said. "I will seek authorization for the use of force from the American people's representatives in Congress."

The  president ignored a reporter who shouted the obvious question: What happens if Congress says no?

But senior administration officials briefing reporters at the White House later said that Obama still believes he has the legal authority to act without congressional support — meaning that a “no” vote would not necessarily handcuff his foreign policy. And they disputed that Obama risked setting a precedent that could limit the power of future occupants of the Oval Office.

The same officials also sidestepped repeated questions about what happens if Assad responds by stepping up chemical attacks against rebels looking to oust him.

The president himself said there was no sell-by-date for action. “Our capacity to execute this mission is not time-sensitive; it will be effective tomorrow, or next week, or one month from now,” he said.

Obama’s decision came amid public opinion polls showing four out of five Americans wanted the president to seek lawmakers’ approval, and with more than 100 congressional signatures on a pair of letters delivering the same message.

Obama has acknowledged repeatedly that Americans are “war-weary” after a decade of conflict — and worried about standing on the threshold of another escalating entanglement in the Middle East.

“This would not be an open-ended intervention, we would not put boots on the ground,” he promised Saturday. “Instead, our action would be designed to be limited in duration and scope.”

The president said he had spoken by telephone with Republican House Speaker John Boehner and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and that they agreed with the timetable.

It also followed a series of diplomatic setbacks: Russian opposition blocked a path through the United Nations Security Council, and Britain’s parliament shocked the world Thursday by voting against military action. France signed on, but its parliament planned to debate the issue next week.

Denied both clear international legal legitimacy and a robust “coalition of the willing,” facing clear public resistance as well as a surprisingly assertive Congress, and trapped by his own declaration that Syria had crossed a “red line,” Obama went from saying he would “consult” Capitol Hill to actively courting its support.

The senior aides briefing reporters after Obama’s remarks suggested that he had largely settled on a course of action in an Aug. 24 National Security Council meeting, but did not make a final decision about using force until Friday.

No one — not Obama, not senior aides, not congressional leaders — had suggested securing congressional approval.

And then, sometime around 6 p.m. ET, Obama went for a 45-minute stroll around the South Lawn of the White House with Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, the aides said. During that walk, the president said that he wanted to go to Congress.

A two-hour meeting, from about 7 p to 9 p.m., followed with senior aides during which Obama to shared the same message. Some aides argued against that course-correction, the officials told reporters.

But by the time a National Security Council meeting wrapped up on Saturday, they were all on board, the aides said.

And they detailed the coming campaign to get Congress on board:

- Hammer home the potential threat to staunch ally Israel’s security

- Provide detailed intelligence about the alleged attack

- Underline that the United States ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention, and make a case that American legitimacy — not just his own — is at stake.

- Make the argument that failure to act could lead, one day, to terrorists acquiring chemical weapons from regimes like Assad’s — and turning them on America.

Friday, August 30, 2013

The Hunt for the Red October

The Hunt for the Red October starting by the Red Sea is kind of poetic way of Putin going into the deep end


Russia sends warships to Mediterranean as Syria tension rises

Related Topics

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (C) attends a conference at the main operation centre of the Russian armed forces, with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu (L) and armed forces Chief-of-Staff Valery Gerasimov (R) in Moscow, June 6, 2013. REUTERS/Michael Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Kremlin

RussianEdit

Холодно, хмуро...
И мрачно в душе
Как мог знать я
что ты умрёшь?

До свиданья, берег родной!
Как нам трудно представить, что это не сон...
Родина, дом родной,
До свиданья, Родина!

Эй! И в поход, и в поход!
Нас волна морская ждёт не дождётся.
Нас зовёт морская даль
И прибой!

Салют отцам и нашим дедам -
Заветам их всегда верны.
Теперь ничто не остановит
Победный шаг родной страны!

Ты плыви, плыви бесстрашно,
Гордость северных морей,
Революции надежда,
Сгусток веры всех людей.

Ты плыви, плыви бесстрашно,
Гордость северных морей,
Революции надежда,
Сгусток веры всех людей.

Салют отцам и нашим дедам -
Заветам их всегда верны.
Теперь ничто не остановит
Победный шаг родной страны!

Ты плыви, плыви бесстрашно,
Гордость северных морей,
Революции надежда,
Сгусток веры всех людей.

В октябре, в октябре
Рапортуем мы наши победы.
В октябре, в октябре
Новый мир дали нам наши деды!

Ты плыви, плыви бесстрашно,
Гордость северных морей,
Революции надежда,
Сгусток веры всех людей.

Салют отцам и нашим дедам -
Заветам их всегда верны.
Теперь ничто не остановит
Победный шаг родной страны!

В октябре, в октябре
Рапортуем мы наши победы.
В октябре...
Новый мир...

Russian (latin alphabet)Edit

Holodna hmoora.
Ee mruchnoh v'dooshe
Kak mohg znat' ya shtoh tee oomriyosh?

Da svidania, byehreg radnoy
Kak nam troodnag pridstahvit shtoh eto nyeh sohn.
Rodina, dom radnoy,
Da svidania Rodina.

Ey. Ee v pakhod, Ee v pakhod,
nass vodna marskaya zhdyot nye dazhdyotsyah.
Nass zahviyat marskaya dal,
ee preeboy!

Salute otsam ee nashyem dedum
Zahvietum eekh fsiyegdah vierneey.
Teepierre nishtoh, nye astanoyvit',
Pabiedney shag, radnoy stranee'.

Tiy pliyvee, pliyvee bestrashna,
Gordest sehviernyh marii.
Revoluytziyi nadyezhdah
Sgoostok vieriy wsekh ludiy.

Tiy pliyvee, pliyvee bestrashna,
Gordest sehviernyh marii.
Revoluytziyi nadyezhdah
Sgoostok vieriy wsekh ludiy.

Salute otsam ee nashyem dedum
Zahvietum eekh fsiyegdah vierneey.
Teepierre nishtoh, nye astanoyvit',
Pabiedney shag, radnoy stranee'.

Tiy pliyvee, pliyvee bestrashna,
Gordest sehviernyh marii.
Revoluytziyi nadyezhdah
Sgoostok vieriy wsekh ludiy.

V'oktyabryeh, v'oktyabryeh,
Rahpartuyum miy nashe pabiediy.
V'oktyabreh, v'oktyabreh,
Noviy meeir dahli nahm nashy dehidiy.

Tiy pliyvee, pliyvee bestrashna,
Gordest sehviernyh marii.
Revoluytziyi nadyezhdah
Sgoostok vieriy wsekh ludiy.

Salute otsam ee nashyem dedum
Zahvietum eekh fsiyegdah vierneey.
Teepierre nishtoh, nye astanoyvit',
Pabiedney shag, radnoy stranee'.

V'oktyabryeh, v'oktyabryeh,
Rahpartuyum miy nashe pabiediy.
V'oktyabreh
Noviy meeir-!

English TranslationEdit

Cold and gloomy
And darkness in my soul
How could I have known
that you would die?

Farewell, our home shore!
It's so hard to imagine, this isn't a dream...
Motherland, our dear home,
Farewell, our Motherland.

Ey! Let's go, let's go!
Water, seas are waiting for us desperately
The vastness of the sea is calling us
And the tides!

Hail to our fathers and forefathers.
Wholly faithful to their covenants.
Now nothing will stop
Our Motherland's victorious march.

Sail, Sail on fearlessly,
Pride of the Northern Seas.
Hope of the Revolution,
The burst of faith of all the people.

Sail, Sail on fearlessly,
Pride of the Northern Seas.
Hope of the Revolution,
The burst of faith of all the people.

Hail to our fathers and forefathers.
Wholly faithful to their covenants.
Now nothing will stop
Our Motherland's victorious march.

Sail, Sail on fearlessly,
Pride of the Northern Seas.
Hope of the Revolution,
The burst of faith of all the people.

In October, in October,
We report our victories
In October, in October,
Our forefathers gave us a new peace!

Sail, Sail on fearlessly,
Pride of the Northern Seas.
Hope of the Revolution,
The burst of faith of all the people.

Hail to our fathers and forefathers.
Wholly faithful to their covenants.
Now nothing will stop
Our Motherland's victorious march.

In October, in October,
We report our victories
In October
A new peace-!


Look more news and more armies are going to surround Isreal ...

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A meeting of the U.N. Security Council's permanent members ended quickly Thursday with no sign of progress on an agreement over Syria's crisis.
The meeting Thursday afternoon started breaking up after less than an hour, with the ambassadors of China, France, Britain, Russia and the United States steadily walking out.
It was the second time in two days that the five Security Council powers came out of a meeting on Syria with no progress. On Wednesday, the five countries met to discuss a resolution proposed by Britain to authorize the use of military force against Syria in retaliation for an alleged chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds near Damascus.
Russia remains firmly opposed to such action, saying there is no evidence the Syrian regime was responsible for the attack, as the U.S. and its allies contend.
British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant looked grim as he walk past reporters Thursday, saying "no comment." The other ambassadors also did not speak to reporters.
A Western diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were private, said Russia called Thursday's meeting. Russia's U.N. mission refused to comment.

There is a lot of talk going on as in the News as it is this war draws near... And the build up a of armies surround Isreal ... 

.... Look at this ...

20 “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies,you will know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. 22 For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. 23 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
29 He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
32 “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Russia sends warships to Mediterranean as Syria tension rises




MOSCOW | 


MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia is sending two warships to the east Mediterranean, Interfax news agency said on Thursday, but Moscow denied this meant it was beefing up its naval force there as Western powers prepare for military action against Syria.

Interfax quoted a source in the armed forces' general staff as saying Russia, Syria's most powerful ally, was deploying a missile cruiser from the Black Sea Fleet and a large anti-submarine ship from the Northern Fleet in the "coming days".

Any strengthening of the navy's presence could fuel tension, especially as the United States has said it is repositioning naval forces in the Mediterranean following an alleged chemical weapons attack which is blames on Syrian government forces.

"The well-known situation now in the eastern Mediterranean required us to make some adjustments to the naval force," the source said in a reference to the events in Syria.

It was not clear when the vessels would arrive but Interfax said the Moskva missile cruiser was currently in the North Atlantic and would set sail in the next few days.

President Vladimir Putin has said the naval presence is needed to protect national security interests and is not a threat to any nation. Russia cooperates with NATO navies against piracy and its ships call at Western ports
.

Iran and the Lebanese political and militant group Hezbollah are debating whether to retaliate on behalf of Syria in the event of a strike on their close ally.
The two, which along with Syria help form what they call an "axis of resistance" against the West, are discussing whether to attack Western interests, and if so, whether to do so openly or covertly and through proxies.
People with knowledge of the discussions in Iran and within Hezbollah said the Syrian allies are considering whether to deploy long-range missiles against Israeli and American warships or military bases in the region if the U.S. attacks Syria in response to what America and its allies say was a deadly chemical attack by Damascus last week.
European Pressphoto Agency
An Israeli soldier standing guard on Thursday near a missile-defense system in the northern Israeli city of Haifa near Syria's border.
Publicly, Hezbollah has stayed quiet on the issue, as Iran maintains an aggressive posture. The commander-in-chief of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mohamad Ali Jaffari, said on Wednesday that an attack on Syria would prompt the "destruction of Israel" and that "flames of war would not be limited to Syria."
Mohammed Obeid, a prominent Shiite political figure close to the Hezbollah's leadership, said in an interview: "This is a regional war. Hezbollah won't allow the [Syrian] regime to be removed by strength."

Lebanese officials who are close to Hezbollah, and several people in Tehran close to the elite Revolutionary Guard Corps, said Damascus and its allies haven't made any final decision on how to react in the event of a U.S.-led attack on Syria.

They say much depends on the nature of any strike. If it is limited to military bases and doesn't threaten to topple President Bashar al-Assad, the allies would react by dispatching more money and arms to support the regime but are less likely to retaliate outside Syria's borders.
"There is a lot of debate going on among Iran and Hezbollah's top military strategists," said a Hezbollah adviser in Beirut. "A final decision is delayed until there is clarity on what Americans will do. The response from Iran and Hezbollah will be measured against that."
If any U.S.-led attack is limited, covert agents and proxy militia groups, such as the Iraqi Shiite militant group Al Mukhtar, could attack American interests in the region, say the people close to Hezbollah and Iran.
Wathiq al-Battat, Al Mukhtar's leader, said on Thursday in an interview with Iran's semiofficial Fars News Agency that his militia "will deliver painful blows to any place where Americans are present in Iraq."
Another powerful Syrian ally, Russia, while supporting Mr. Assad politically and with military aid, has signaled it wouldn't participate militarily in any conflict. Hamas, the Palestinian militant group and former Assad ally that forms part of the so-called axis, now supports Syria's opposition.
Israel is a wild card. If Syria or its allies were to strike Israel in retaliation for a U.S. strike and the Jewish state were to retaliate, Middle East experts say the danger of a broader regional war is far higher.
Tensions along Israeli-Syrian border are building.
Israel's cabinet authorized Israel's army to call up about 1,000 reservists to bolster the ranks of Israel's missile defense systems and the air force. Israel put its soldiers on the country's northern border with Syria on heightened alert and canceled any home leaves.
A group of Iranian militia youth, meanwhile, volunteered to be dispatched to the Golan Heights, along Syria's southern border, to fight Israel, Fars reported on Thursday night. The group asked Iraqi officials to allow them passage to Syria from Iraq's borders, Fars reported.
Top-level military strategists of Iran, Hezbollah and Syria are debating whether launching rockets into Israel now would serve their long-term interests, people with knowledge of the discussions said.
A senior U.S. State Department official, meanwhile, said the Obama administration was making preparations for potential retaliation against U.S. interests in the Middle East and North Africa "out of an abundance of caution."
Many observers say that Hezbollah and Iran could surprise the West by keeping a low profile unless they perceive that Mr. Assad is about to be toppled or if Iran were to face attack.
"They would not escalate if they don't see a clear benefit from it," said Paul Salem, the director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, referring to Iran and Hezbollah. "The Iranians have stood by and picked up the pieces in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Observers say any course carries the potential to damage the alliance between Syria, Iran and Hezbollah, who share a Muslim Shiite connection and together act to counter the power of regional Sunni powers including Saudi Arabia.
Inaction in the face of a U.S.-led strike on Syria would be perceived by their supporters as a sign of weakness and diminish their standing, observers say. A fight against the U.S. and Israel could leave both Iran and Hezbollah vulnerable.
Iran, for one, is attempting to project a new, more moderate foreign policy following the election of President Hasan Rouhani and doesn't want to risk more international isolation. Iran's economy is in shambles due to mismanagement and Western sanctions aimed at halting its nuclear program, constraining Tehran's ability to help its Syrian ally.
Hezbollah has domestic considerations. The group has already been rebuked by its Christian allies in Lebanon, who fear they could become a target of Sunni Islamists because of their affiliation to Hezbollah.
Hezbollah's commanders and foot soldiers are also tied up in the battlefield of Syria and the routes for resupplying arms and cash from Iran is shrinking as opposition gains ground in Syria. Still, the threat of Mr. Assad's removal from power could force them to act to preserve their existence, some in Lebanon say.
Mr. Assad's position, until his alleged use of chemical weapons last week, appears to have stabilized, or even strengthened. But Syrian rebels now believe any U.S.-led airstrikes would give them new momentum to dislodge Syria's leader and weaken his Iranian and Hezbollah allies.
"Any strikes on Syria will be seen as a signal to Iran," said a senior Arab official. "That's why we feel the U.S. has to act."
—Charles Levinson in Cairo contributed to this article.
Write to Farnaz Fassihi at farnaz.fassihi@wsj.com, Maria Abi-Habib atmaria.habib@wsj.com and Jay Solomon at jay.solomon@wsj.com
A version of this article appeared August 29, 2013, on page A8 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Syria's Close Allies Debate Response.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Most likely target is Israel

Do you think Israelis well have good enough defense and enough masks for the start of WW III?

Israeli Rush for Gas Masks Fearing Retaliation for Syria Strike

Israelis thronged to distribution centers to pick up government-issued gas masks, afraid their country will be targeted in retaliation if the U.S. attacks Syria.
The Israel Postal Service, which is distributing the masks, announced on its website that the centers would extend their hours until evening “due to extraordinary demand.” In Haifa, the biggest city closest to the northern border with Lebanon and Syria, people waited in line for hours, Israel Radio said. Some centers ran out of masks.
“I’m disappointed there aren’t enough masks, but I’m also upset at myself because my mother told me six months ago I should take care of this,” said Inbal Demma, 28, ofJerusalem, who had come to pick up masks and an infant gas tent at the city’s Hadar mall for herself, her husband and their 2-month-old daughter.
The U.S. and its allies began exploring military action after some Syrian opposition groups said 1,300 people died in an Aug. 21 chemical attack in the Ghouta area outside Damascus.Israel, sitting on Syria’s southern border and a longtime foe, would be a potential target for retribution.
Syria’s foreign minister, Walid al-Muallem, made the linkage yesterday when he said the U.S. and Israel don’t want a political solution. Ally Iran has explicitly identified Israel as a target for reprisal, with the miltiary’s deputy chief, Masoud Jazayeri, saying Israel would “burn” from the fire of any strike on Syria, the state-run Press TV news channel reported yesterday.

Mixed Messages

Israeli leaders have urged citizens to remain calm while warning that any attack against their country would provoke a harsh response.
“Israel was not, and is not, involved in the Syrian fighting, but if anyone tries to harm us we will respond with all our might,” President Shimon Peres said today during a visit to Jerusalem police headquarters. “The reports aimed at Israel are an attempt to create panic, but Israel is too experienced to fall for false propaganda.”
Some analysts and former military officials assess the likelihood of a retaliatory attack as slim.
It’s “a possibility that can’t be ignored,” said Yiftah Shapir, director of the Military Balance Project at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. “On the other hand, rationally, I don’t think they need another front against Israel. They are very much involved in a war for their survival and don’t need another war in their back yard.”

Likelihood Seen Slim

While Shapir didn’t rule out an attack by pro-Syria Hezbollah, he said that wasn’t in the Lebanese militant group’s interest because it is fighting alongside Syria and under fire at home for joining that conflict.
Israel first distributed gas masks to its citizens before the 1991 Gulf War, during which Iraqfired Scud missiles at the Jewish state after the U.S. attacked Iraq for invading Kuwait. None of the missiles carried chemical weapons.
Israel has bolstered its air defenses in the northern part of the country, and has called up reserves in air force, military intelligence and home front units.
“We are getting ready and are prepared, but there is no panic, no escalation, and things are being done judiciously.” Israeli Defense Moshe Ya’alon said yesterday.
To contact the reporter on this story: Calev Ben-David in Jerusalem atcbendavid@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net