Syria conflict: At least 93,000 killed, says UN

[Matter-Eater Lad]

You should read Chomsky, Nick.

 

I just bought one of his newest books.

[busybeeburns]

Syria conflict: 'Chemical attacks kill hundreds'

 

 

Syria conflict: 'Chemical attacks kill hundreds'

 

Chemical weapons attacks have killed hundreds on the outskirts of Damascus, Syrian opposition activists say.

 

Rockets with toxic agents were launched at the suburbs of the Ghouta region early on Wednesday as part of a major bombardment on rebel forces, they say. The Syrian army says the accusations have been fabricated to cover up rebel losses.

 

The main opposition alliance said that more than 1,000 people were killed by the attacks. Activist networks also reported death tolls in the hundreds, but these could not be independently confirmed.

 

It is also not clear how many died in the bombardment of the sites and how many deaths were due to any exposure to toxic substances. Video footage showed dozens of bodies with no visible signs of injuries, including small children, laid out on the floor of a clinic.

 

Ghazwan Bwidany, a doctor treating the injured, told the BBC the main symptom, especially among children, was suffocation, as well as salivating and blurred vision. "We don't have the capability to treat all this number of people," he said. "We're putting them in mosques, in schools. We are lacking medical supplies now, especially atropine, which is the antidote for chemical weapons."

 

In a statement, the army described the accusations of chemical weapons use as grave, and stressed the military's right to fight what it described as terrorism in Syria. It accused the opposition of fabricating the accusations to divert attention from the huge losses its forces had suffered recently.

 

United Nations chemical weapons inspectors arrived in Syria on Sunday with a mandate to investigate three locations where chemical weapons were allegedly used, including the northern town of Khan al-Assal, where some 26 people were killed in March.

 

The US, UK and France have all called for the inspectors to examine this latest incident, and an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting will be held at 19:00 GMT on Wednesday.

 

"The United States is deeply concerned by reports that hundreds of Syrian civilians have been killed in an attack by Syrian government forces, including by the use of chemical weapons, near Damascus earlier today," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement.

 

"We are formally requesting that the United Nations urgently investigate this new allegation. The UN investigative team, which is currently in Syria, is prepared to do so, and that is consistent with its purpose and mandate."

 

The alleged attack comes a year after US President Barack Obama warned the Syrian government that using chemical weapons would cross a "red line".

 

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said that if confirmed the attacks would mark a "shocking escalation in the use of chemical weapons in Syria".

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23777201

[Prince Myshkin]

Saw some of the videos of the kids.

It's upset me.

[bart]

they should have not interferd...

[Matter-Eater Lad]

The rebels used chemical weapons once already. I bet they did it again.

[busybeeburns]

 

Syria: Cameron and Obama threaten 'serious response'

 

The UK and the US have threatened a "serious response" if it emerges Syria used chemical weapons last week.

 

Prime Minister David Cameron and President Barack Obama spoke on the telephone for 40 minutes on Saturday. Both were "gravely concerned" by the "increasing signs that this was a significant chemical weapons attack carried out by the Syrian regime", Mr Cameron's office said in a statement.

 

The Syrian government has denied involvement and blamed rebel fighters. State television reported on Saturday that soldiers had found chemical agents in tunnels used by the rebels to the east of Damascus.

 

It broadcast images of gas masks and plastic containers, but nothing to support official statements that soldiers had "suffered from cases of suffocation" when rebels used poison gas "as a last resort" after government forces made "big gains" in the suburb of Jobar.

 

Opposition activists accuse forces supporting President Bashar al-Assad of killing between 500 and more than 1,000 civilians in several suburbs east and west of capital in the early hours of Wednesday morning. They want the areas inspected UN chemical weapons experts who are already in Damascus to investigate other suspected attacks. The UN's disarmament chief, Angela Kane, arrived in Damascus on Saturday to press the authorities for access.

 

Iran's Irna state news agency reported that Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem had told his Iranian counterpart that Damascus was "co-operating" with the UN experts and "preparing the opportunity for them to visit areas which have been attacked chemically by terrorist groups".

 

"The UN Security Council has called for immediate access for UN investigators on the ground in Damascus," Downing Street said. "The fact that President Assad has failed to co-operate with the UN suggests that the regime has something to hide."

 

It said Mr Cameron and Mr Obama had "reiterated that significant use of chemical weapons would merit a serious response from the international community and both have tasked officials to examine all the options".

 

The statement said the two men had agreed it was "vital that the world upholds the prohibition on the use of chemical weapons and deters further outrages". They would keep in "close contact", it added.

 

The US president earlier convened his National Security Council to discuss options on Syria. "The president has directed the intelligence community to gather facts and evidence so that we can determine what occurred in Syria," a White House official told AFP news agency. "We have a range of options available, and we are going to act very deliberately so that we're making decisions consistent with our national interest as well as our assessment of what can advance our objectives in Syria."

 

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said its military, which is repositioning naval forces in the Mediterranean, was ready to act. "President Obama has asked the defence department to prepare options for all contingencies. We have done that and we are prepared to exercise whatever option - if he decides to employ one of those options," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.

 

BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said he understood that the "serious response" mentioned in the UK statement would not include "boots on the ground".

 

But a range of other options was not ruled out, he said, potentially including air strikes. On Sunday, Iran's deputy armed forces chief, Massoud Jazayeri, warned the US against crossing the "red line" on Syria, saying it would have "severe consequences", according to the Fars news agency.

 

The medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has said three hospitals it supports in the Damascus area had treated about 3,600 patients with "neurotoxic symptoms" early on Wednesday morning, of whom 355 have died.

 

While MSF said it could not "scientifically confirm" the use of chemical weapons, staff at the hospitals described a large number of patients arriving in the space of less than three hours with symptoms including convulsions, dilated pupils and breathing problems.

 

MSF director of operations Bart Janssens said the symptoms - as well as the "massive influx of patients in a short period of time" - strongly suggested mass exposure to a neurotoxic agent. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based activist group, meanwhile said it had documented the deaths of 322 people, including 82 women and 54 children.

 

On Sunday morning, several suburbs of Damascus reportedly came under heavy shell and mortar fire, as government forces continued their offensive on rebel strongholds. At least 114 people were killed across the country on Saturday, including 33 people in the capital, according to the Local Co-ordination Committees, an opposition activist network.

 

The UN says more than 100,000 people have been killed since the uprising against President Assad began more than two years ago.

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23830590

[Matter-Eater Lad]

We've been preparing for an attack and want to use this as an excuse. Haha the rebels use wmd's, don't get in trouble and get their enemy attacked. This is Afghanistan all over again.

[Matter-Eater Lad]

60% Of Americans Oppose US Involvement In Syria, Only 9% Support Military Action

 

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-08-25/60-americans-oppose-us-involvement-syria-only-9-support-military-action

[busybeeburns]

US ready to launch Syria strike, says Chuck Hagel

 

 

US ready to launch Syria strike, says Chuck Hagel

 

American forces are "ready" to launch strikes on Syria if President Barack Obama chooses to order an attack, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel says.

 

"We have moved assets in place to be able to fulfil and comply with whatever option the president wishes to take," Mr Hagel told the BBC. The White House said the US would release intelligence on last week's suspected attack in the next few days. The UK Parliament is to be recalled on Thursday to discuss possible responses.

 

Prime Minister David Cameron said the world could not stand idly by after seeing appalling scenes of death and suffering caused by suspected chemical weapons attacks. The crisis follows last Wednesday's suspected chemical attack near the Syrian capital, Damascus, which reportedly killed more than 300 people.

 

French President Francois Hollande said France was "ready to punish" whoever was behind the attack, and had decided to increase military support for Syria's main opposition.

 

BBC diplomatic correspondent James Robbins says the US, UK and France will now have the larger task of building as wide a coalition as possible to support limited military action. Meanwhile the Arab League said it held Syrian President Bashar al-Assad responsible for the attacks and called for UN action.

 

Syrian opposition sources have said they have been told to expect a Western intervention in the conflict imminently. "There is no precise timing... but one can speak of an imminent international intervention against the regime. It's a question of days and not weeks," AFP news agency quoted Syrian National Coalition official Ahmad Ramadan as saying. There have been meetings between the Coalition, the [rebel] Free Syrian Army and allied countries during which possible targets have been discussed."

 

Russia and China, allies of the Syrian government, have stepped up their warnings against military intervention, with Moscow saying any such action would have "catastrophic consequences" for the region.

 

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem has said he rejects "utterly and completely" claims that Syrian forces used chemical weapons, and his government has blamed rebel fighters.

 

On Monday, United Nations weapons inspectors were fired on while investigating one of the five alleged chemical weapons attack sites around Damascus. Mr Hagel said the US Department of Defence had provided President Obama with "all options for all contingencies". "He has seen them, we are prepared," he told the BBC's Jon Sopel, adding: "We are ready to go."

 

[Matter-Eater Lad]

It's coming. I wonder, since they're allies with Russia, what will happen. They a better air defense than Iraq did. I wonder what weapons the Russians gave them to fend off any NATO air strikes.

[Black Rose]

There is no profit in peace, so you gotta fight some more :(

[nancyk58]

It seems that my country Denmark is ready to join UK and France and the USA in whatever these countries decide to do - also if it is without UN mandate.

 

I am worried because Russia has been very keen on supporting Assad in Syria - how will Russia react in case of an attack?

 

And if Assad falls - what will come instead as I understand that the opposition groups are not united - at least one of these groups might even have Al Quida links. So a bit scary.

[Matter-Eater Lad]

It seems that my country Denmark is ready to join UK and France and the USA in whatever these countries decide to do - also if it without UN mandate.

 

I am worried because Russia has been very keen on supporting Assad in Syria - how will Russia react in case of an attack.

 

And if Assad falls - what will come instead as I understand that the opposition groups are not united - at least one of these groups might even have Al Quida links. So a bit scary.

 

Denmark? Really?! It's a shame all these nations who are okay with the rebels using WMD's, children soldiers and other war crimes make a big deal about Assad.

 

There is a heavy Al Quida presence in the rebel forces, in fact they are now basically AL Quida and Qatari mercenaries, not Syrian troops from the Free Syrian Army(FSA) as much as the media makes it seem. And yes, there is heavy fighting between the groups. Assad is winning and that's why the US wants to support the rebels aka Al Quida.

[Coeurli]

uh-oh

[Matter-Eater Lad]

I love how we claim Al Qeada is so bad, yet we fund and arm them in Libya and Syria but bomb them in Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

[TraceOddity]

I love how we claim Al Qeada is so bad, yet we fund and arm them in Libya and Syria but bomb them in Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

 

Same as we backed the Taliban When Russia was in Afghanistan.

 

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend.":(

[Matter-Eater Lad]

Exactly. Well we also trained and funded Al Qeada in Afghanistan along with the Taliban. If I remember correctly, part of the Jihadist fighting the Soviets later became AL Queada and Bin Laden was one of the people who received our weapons and money.

[busybeeburns]

Published on 29 Aug 2013

George Galloway British member of parliament speaks the truth about the events in Syria, "A little knowledge can be very dangerous".

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgxzpQrqSkg]George Galloway British Parliament Speaks On Syria - YouTube[/ame]

[busybeeburns]

UK: MPs vote against Labour amendment on Syria

 

MPs voted against Labour's amendment to the Government motion on Syria which demands "compelling evidence" that the Assad regime was responsible for chemical attacks.

 

http://www.itv.com/news/story/2013-08-28/syria-parliament-vote/

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>MPs vote 332 to 220 against Labour amendment on Syria intervention and will now vote on government motion <a href="http://t.co/YQCCzTwmTz">http://t.co/YQCCzTwmTz</a></p>— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) <a href="https://twitter.com/BBCBreaking/statuses/373192524200157184">August 29, 2013</a></blockquote>

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[Black Rose]

Evidence will show that chemical weapons were used. What it won't show is what side fired them.

[busybeeburns]

Not a good day for David Cameron

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>The Government's motion over action in <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Syria&src=hash">#Syria</a> is defeated in the House of Commons by 272 votes to 285 <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23UK&src=hash">#UK</a></p>— Haqq Navees (@sahaider) <a href="https://twitter.com/sahaider/statuses/373196470838509568">August 29, 2013</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>BREAKING: UK government motion on Syria intervention defeated in parliament <a href="http://t.co/XbC0Gu5P15">http://t.co/XbC0Gu5P15</a></p>— RT (@RT_com) <a href="https://twitter.com/RT_com/statuses/373196592318119936">August 29, 2013</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Government motion on military intervention in Syria defeated by 285 votes to 272</p>— Telegraph News (@TelegraphNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/TelegraphNews/statuses/373196822178562048">August 29, 2013</a></blockquote>

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[busybeeburns]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>BREAKING: UK Prime Minister David Cameron after motion to use UK military in Syria fails: "I get that & the government will act accordingly"</p>— NewsBreaker (@NewsBreaker) <a href="https://twitter.com/NewsBreaker/statuses/373197021160566784">August 29, 2013</a></blockquote>

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[Guest howyousawtheworld]

UK government's motion on Syria is defeated. Cameron placed in a difficult position now.

[busybeeburns]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Fascinating to see the <a href="https://twitter.com/HouseofCommons">@HouseofCommons</a> vote down the government's motion on militery action on <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Syria&src=hash">#Syria</a>! Bad memories from Iraq appears key</p>— James Hughes (@JimmyHughes02) <a href="https://twitter.com/JimmyHughes02/statuses/373198118067924992">August 29, 2013</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Blair's lies ultimately defeated Cameron; no-one trusts UK gov to act appropriately militarily after Iraq disgrace.</p>— Jonathan Mackie (@MackieJonathan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MackieJonathan/statuses/373199191998083073">August 29, 2013</a></blockquote>

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[Guest howyousawtheworld]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Fascinating to see the <a href="https://twitter.com/HouseofCommons">@HouseofCommons</a> vote down the government's motion on militery action on <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Syria&src=hash">#Syria</a>! Bad memories from Iraq appears key</p>— James Hughes (@JimmyHughes02) <a href="https://twitter.com/JimmyHughes02/statuses/373198118067924992">August 29, 2013</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Blair's lies ultimately defeated Cameron; no-one trusts UK gov to act appropriately militarily after Iraq disgrace.</p>— Jonathan Mackie (@MackieJonathan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MackieJonathan/statuses/373199191998083073">August 29, 2013</a></blockquote>

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True about Iraq. That stopped any possibility. Pretty extraordinary display though by the British Parliament in the eyes of the whole world!