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US: The indispensable (bombing) nation

Pepe Escobar
Asia Times Online
Tue, 03 Sep 2013 13:35 UTC
Obama + Hollande
© Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
President Barack Obama holds a bilateral meeting with President François Hollande of France in the Oval Office, May 18, 2012.
Yes We Scan. Yes We Drone. And Yes We Bomb. The White House's propaganda blitzkrieg to sell the Tomahawking of Syria to the US Congress is already reaching pre-bombing maximum spin - gleefully reproduced by US corporate media.

And yes, all parallels to Iraq 2.0 duly came to fruition when US Secretary of State John Kerry pontificated that Bashar al-Assad "now joins the list of Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein" as an evil monster. Why is Cambodia's Pol Pot never mentioned? Oh yes, because the US supported him.

Every single tumbleweed in the Nevada desert knows who's itching for war on Syria; vast sectors of the industrial-military complex; Israel; the House of Saud; the "socialist" Francois Hollande in France, who has wet dreams with Sykes-Picot. Virtually nobody is lobbying Congress NOT to go to war.

And all the frantic war lobbying may even be superfluous; Nobel Peace Prize winner and prospective bomber Barack Obama has already implied - via hardcore hedging of the "I have decided that the United States should take military action" kind - that he's bent on attacking Syria no matter what Congress says.

Obama's self-inflicted "red line" is a mutant virus; from "a shot across the bow" it morphed into a "slap on the wrist" and now seems to be "I'm the Bomb Decider". Speculation about his real motives is idle. His Hail Mary pass of resorting to an extremely unpopular Congress packed with certified morons may be a cry for help (save me from my stupid "red line"); or - considering the humanitarian imperialists of the Susan Rice kind who surround him - he's hell bent on entering another war for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the House of Saud lobby under the cover of "moral high ground". Part of the spin is that "Israel must be protected". But the fact is Israel is already over-protected by an AIPAC remote-controlled United States Congress. [1]
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Alarm Clock

A Response to John Kerry's Syria 'Evidence' Speech

Joe Quinn
Sott.net
Tue, 03 Sep 2013 16:43 UTC
Image

Deaths-head revisited. John Kerry: spokesman for psychopaths in power.
Psycho war monger John Kerry has been trying to con the world, yet again, into supporting an attack on some dark-skinned people 'oceans away'. As I watched his speech a few days ago, I had lots of things I wanted to say in response. Sadly however, I wasn't invited to attend the event. So I've written my responses here, for the only people who actually matter in this world, i.e. not John Kerry or his coterie of psychopathic masters and servants. Of which there are many. Too many.
President Obama has spent many days now consulting with Congress and talking with leaders around the world about the situation in Syria.

And last night the president asked all of us on his national security team to consult with the leaders of Congress, as well, including the leadership of the congressional national security committees. And he asked us to consult about what we know regarding the horrific chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs last week.

I will tell you that as someone who spent nearly three decades in the United States Congress, I know that that consultation is the right way for a president to approach a decision of when and how and if to use military force. And it's important to ask the tough questions and get the tough answers before taking action, not just afterward.
Yeah good point Johnny boy, "fixing the facts around the policy" in 2002/3 didn't work out too well huh? And it's creating a bit of a problem for the effort to fool the rabble yet again with the same old unimaginative, emotionally-charged lies.
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Penis Pump

Japan seeks big boost in military spending


Press TV
Tue, 03 Sep 2013 11:36 UTC
Itsunori Onodera
© AFP
Japan's defence minister Itsunori Onodera
Japan defense minister has called for an increase in military spending in face of what has been called significant security issues in the volatile Asia-Pacific region.

Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said Japan needs to boost its army to counter a potential threat from China's rising military power and North Korea's long-range missiles.
"There are various tensions ongoing in Asia, and in some cases, there are countries that even use threats," media outlets quoted Onodera as saying on Tuesday.
The Defense Ministry is after a three-percent rise for its spending in the coming year that would be the biggest request in 22 years.

The ministry believes the funding is needed to meet growing personnel costs and the price of weapons imports.

The developments come as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been also a strong advocate of strengthening Japan's military despite the country's other economic pressures.
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Green Light

Slovaks released after 'fair' Iran talks: Slovak PM


Press TV
Tue, 03 Sep 2013 11:21 UTC
Released Slovak nationals
© Unknown
Six released Slovak nationals, who were detained in Iran, attend a press conference on September 1, 2013 after they return home.
Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico says fair talks with Iranian officials have led to the release of six out of eight Slovak nationals arrested on charges of possessing illegal equipment and violating the Islamic Republic's law.

"Negotiations were fair and their result is the release of six out of eight detainees," Fico said on Tuesday.

He added that the Slovakian government was working to secure the release of the two citizens who are still held in custody.

The premier noted that his country made no "financial commitments" for the release of the Slovaks.

Iran's Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Monday saying following a decision by relevant authorities based on investigations carried out into the case, the six Slovak nationals were released and handed over to Slovakia's Embassy in Tehran on Sunday.
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Radar

Russian radars detect launch of two ballistic missiles from Mediterranean Sea - Israel first denies knowledge then claims responsibility for 'test launch from fighter jet'


RT.com
Tue, 03 Sep 2013 05:31 UTC
Tomahawk submarine launch
© Unknown
Russia's early warning radars detected the launch of two ballistic rockets in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, Russia's Defense Ministry stated. Israel later claimed responsibility for firing the target test rockets.

The launch took place at 06:16 GMT Tuesday, according to Russia's Ministry of Defense.

The trajectory of the missiles is reported to have been from the central part of the Mediterranean Sea towards the eastern landmass. Both rockets have allegedly fallen into the sea, RIA Novosti news agency reported.

Russia's President Putin has already been informed about the incident by Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu.

The Syrian embassy in Moscow currently has no information on the incident.

There were no rocket attack signals or blasts in Damascus, the Russian embassy in Syria noted.

Comment: So the original story was that Israel denied having any knowledge about these alleged missiles being launched.

Israel then later claimed responsibility for firing the two 'test' rockets.

Since RT first published this article on 3 September, they updated it with new and completely contradictory information on 4 September:
Israel claims joint US missile launch in Mediterranean for 'target practice'

Israel says it carried out a "joint" US missile launch in the Mediterranean, having earlier claimed ignorance. Russian radars detected two ballistic rockets fired in the region on Tuesday, sparking widespread speculation over who was behind the launch.

A spokesperson for the Israeli army confirmed that a launch of a missile had been carried out 9:15am local time (06:15 GMT), adding that US forces in the Mediterranean had been given prior warning of the drill.

A fighter jet launched an Ankor-type ("Sparrow") missile as part of a drill to test the Israeli missile defense system. However, earlier, when the Russian government announced it had detected the firing of "two ballistic objects" in the area, Israel insisted it had no "information on this issue yet."

Despite Israeli claimed of a "joint US" missile launch, the American Navy maintained that no rockets were launched by US forces in the region.

"No missiles were fired from US ships in the Mediterranean," said the spokesman, who made no further comment on the matter.

Other members of the international community were quick to follow suit with France, UK and Italy denying any knowledge of the test launch. NATO said it was investigating the incident.

The Pentagon later admitted that the Israeli missile test in the Mediterranean was carried out "with technical support of the US Defense Department."

The test was also "pre-planned," according to the US Defense Department spokesman George Little quoted by Itar-Tass.

The Israeli Defense Ministry confirmed a US defense agency took part in a "successful flight test of the new version of the Sparrow target missile" in an e-mail statement to RT Arabic.

"Israel's Missile Defense Organization and the US Missile Defense Agency officials conducted the flight test. The main contractor for the integration and development of the Sparrow is Rafael and the main contractor of the Arrow Weapon System is MLM of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in conjunction with Boeing," the statement explained.

The Russian Defense Ministry initially reported that "two ballistic objects" were picked up on radars in the central Mediterranean and were moving towards the East. Later, citing a security source inside the Syrian government, RIA Novosti reported that the rockets had fallen into the sea.

Meanwhile, Syria's missile detection system did not pick up any rockets landing on Syrian territory, a security source told Lebanese channel al-Manar TV.
So now the Israelis have claimed they fired at least one of these missiles from a fighter jet, (which may or may not have been done with US knowledge or assistance) although that still leaves unexplained the Russian statement that both missiles were launched from the sea...
Pentagon: Israel test-fires missile, U.S. helps

Earlier, Russia announced that its early warning system detected the launch of two missiles in the sea. Russia's state-run news outlet RIA Novosti said the launch was detected Tuesday morning by radar in the southern Russian city of Armavir, citing a Defense Ministry spokesman.

"The targets' trajectories ran from the central to the eastern Mediterranean," RIA Novosti reported, citing the spokesman.
Stay tuned for more madness from the Zionists...

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MIB

Are spy agencies once again lying ... this time to justify war against Syria?


Washingtons Blog
Tue, 03 Sep 2013 05:06 UTC
Lying snake
© Unknown
Congressman with top-secret briefing isn't impressed with Syrian war claims.

Antiwar argues:
The only reason the whole allegation [that the Syrian government used chemical weapons] hasn't been dismissed out of hand is the administration's repeated claims that they have better, secret intelligence that they're just not showing anyone, or occasionally are letting already pro-war Congressmen get a glimpse of.
But - as the Weekly Standard reports - some Congressmen who have gotten a classified briefing aren't impressed:
"I have just attended a classified Congressional briefing on Syria that quite frankly raised more questions than it answered. I found the evidence presented by Administration officials to be circumstantial" .... liberal Democrat Tom Harkin says in a statement released after today's classified Capitol Hill briefing.
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Evil Rays

Yes, the Syrian rebels DO have access to chemical weapons


Washingtons Blog
Tue, 03 Sep 2013 04:51 UTC
Al-nusra
© Unknown
One of the U.S. government's main justifications for its claim that the Syrian government carried out a chemical weapons attack is that the rebels don't have chemical weapons.

However, multiple lines of evidence show that the rebels do have chemical weapons.
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V

The British public has its say: Two-thirds oppose strikes on Syria

Andrew Grice
The Independent
Tue, 03 Sep 2013 02:53 UTC
FSA fighter in Aleppo
© Unknown
Mercenary fighter paid for by Saudi Arabia seen fighting in the old city of Aleppo
The Iraq War has turned the British public against any military intervention in the Middle East, according to a ComRes survey for The Independent.

By a margin of two-to-one, the British people oppose President Barack Obama's plan for military strikes against the Assad regime and say that the UK should keep out of all conflicts in the region for the foreseeable future.

David Cameron and Nick Clegg yesterday rejected growing all-party pressure from MPs and peers for another Commons vote on whether British forces should join air strikes in Syria, only four days after MPs rejected the Prime Minister's plan to take part.

But Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, said the Government could revisit the question if circumstances changed "very significantly".
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Briefcase

Number of Syrian refugees passes 2 million: UNHCR


Press TV
Tue, 03 Sep 2013 02:39 UTC
Syrian Refugees
© Unknown
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has announced that the number of Syrian refugees, who have fled the country's 29-month-long conflict, has passed the two million mark.

"Syria is hemorrhaging women, children and men who cross borders often with little more than the clothes on their backs," the UNHCR said in a statement on Tuesday.

The UN refugee agency also said that some 4.25 million people have also been displaced inside Syria since the crisis began in 2011.

Some 1.8 million Syrian have fled the country over the past 12 months, and an average of 5,000 people continue to cross Syria's borders into neighboring countries every day, the UNHCR said.

The UN figures showed that, on August 23, the number of children living as refugees passed one million.
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Brick Wall

US isolated on Syria, in the midst of strategic retreat: Allen Roland


Press TV
Tue, 03 Sep 2013 02:22 UTC
Barack Obama
© Unknown

Press TV has conducted an interview with Allen Roland, online columnist, from Sonoma California, about the issue of US President Obama now formally seeking congressional approval for a war against Syria.

The following is an approximate transcript of the interview.

Press TV: Why do you think Obama has stalled the attack on Syria and is now seeking congressional approval for the military strike?

Roland: Well, let me make it simple - The game is up.

When the British parliament did not back Cameron's parliamentary procedure to basically OK an attack in Syria, the game was up.

Led by George Galloway, the game was up.

Obama is not about to stand by himself. Secondly, there is very serious reservations about the evidence of poison gas - sarin; and there is a very good likelihood this was supplied by Saudi Arabia and Israelis, to the rebels. So there is no question.
So, right now Obama is executing the Obama straddle where is making a retreat while blustering that he is making an attack.
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