[Zakeet]

You Freepers don't need to worry because Hussein and Hillary are in charge ... and the Muzzies absolutely love and obey them ... and they would never fill the warheads with chemicals and shoot these things at Israel!

[silentknight]

One American official, who asked not to be identified because he was discussing classified information,

One American official, who asked not to be identified because he was discussing classified information,

One American official, who asked not to be identified because he was discussing classified information,

One American official, who asked not to be identified because he was discussing classified information,

One American official, who asked not to be identified because he was discussing classified information,

One American official, who asked not to be identified because he was discussing classified information,

Wow!!!!

[Cowboy Bob]

Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have fired Scud missiles at rebel fighters in recent days, Obama administration officials said on Wednesday.

Is Assad allowed to defend himself? I didn't think that was legal... /sarc

[ClearCase_guy]

1) Chemical weapons on the move
2) Scud missiles successfully fired at the enemy

Now, it's just a matter of putting things together.

And then Obama makes his move.

NOTE: Assad doesn't actually have to do anything. But Obama can make the claim and it will be unquestioned, and then we've got boots on the ground and we're fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with al Qaeda, knocking over one of the last secular regimes in the Middle East.

[Mac94]

This makes no sense ... SCUDs against what basically is a light infantry force? Unless they were chemically tipped there is zero military sense here. Those type weapons would be for fix large strategic targets and not for use in a conventional way against light infantry.

So if it happened there’s mre to this than is being reported or the government is pushing something for political ends knowing the word “SCUD” would get a reaction from the public.

[KnutKase]

Um, are these Saddam’s or Assad’s?

[Gen.Blather]

Depending on how old they are technologically, the warhead has a CEP (Circular Error Probability) of about half a mile. Meaning, it will hit within half a mile of where it is aimed. Explosive warheads are probably in the 2000 pound range meaning it will destroy the building it hits and damage to progressively lesser degrees surrounding buildings.

Two thoughts. He can’t move the missiles into his chosen redoubt so he is using them up so they can’t be used against him when he and the remaining Alawite supporters move to the area around the Russian occupied port. (The rebels are allowing convoys heading to this area to go unmolested to avoid a protracted fight for the capital. But they surely would stop obvious weapons that could be used against them from a distance. Also, the regime has been conducting ethnic cleansing in the region of the redoubt and on the projected new border.) Secondly, the scuds are only a terror weapon with no significant military value. I suspect that the rebels won’t be impressed as they’ve been about as terrorized as they’re likely to be and it will simply spur them to fight harder. But it will probably reduce their numbers for future conflicts with the Assad regime in its new home.

Another thought. The US official didn’t give his name because he was discussing classified information. Are there no US officials with honor and integrity left?

[dennisw]

Hama Rules

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

In February 1982 the secular Syrian government of President Hafez al-Assad faced a mortal threat from Islamic extremists, who sought to topple the Assad regime. How did it respond? President Assad identified the rebellion as emanating from Syria's fourth-largest city — Hama — and he literally leveled it, pounding the fundamentalist neighborhoods with artillery for days. Once the guns fell silent, he plowed up the rubble and bulldozed it flat, into vast parking lots. Amnesty International estimated that 10,000 to 25,000 Syrians, mostly civilians, were killed in the merciless crackdown. Syria has not had a Muslim extremist problem since.

I visited Hama a few months after it was leveled. The regime actually wanted Syrians to go see it, to contemplate Hama's silence and to reflect on its meaning. I wrote afterward, "The whole town looked as though a tornado had swept back and forth over it for a week — but this was not the work of mother nature

This was "Hama Rules" — the real rules of Middle East politics — and Hama Rules are no rules at all.

[opentalk]

One of the comments at link:

Double standard at work here. When Assad to defend himself fires scud missles into jihadist we condemn him for killing the civilians amongst which the jihadists are hiding. Notice we DON'T Condemn the jihadist for using civilians as shields.

Now when we fire a Drone at a Jihadist is in house etc and have 'collateral damage" we condemn the jihadist for sheltering amongst civilians. But we are the "good" guys and are drone is a "good" drone doing good work.

NOTE THE DOUBLE STANDARDS -- When we do the same thing it is OK and good,but when Assad does it,it is evil and bad. In both cases the targets are Al Quaeda,Jihadists

…

[justa-hairyape]

Looks like they are using more then Scuds.

Syria Fires Scud Missiles, Burning Bombs and Even Sea Mines at Rebels

[justa-hairyape]

More news on the continuing escalation of WWIII.

What Syria’s Scud missile launches tell us about the regime’s thinking

Obama Is Not Happy About Syria Using SCUD Missiles Against the Rebels