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Experts Fear U.S. Plan to Strike Syria Overlooks Risks
The New York Times ^ | Friday, August 30, 2013 | Anne Barnard and Alissa J. Rubin

Posted on 08/30/2013 8:52:51 PM PDT by kristinn

SNIP

In outlining its tentative plans, the Obama administration has left many questions unanswered. Diplomats familiar with Mr. Assad say there is no way to know how he would respond, and they question what the United States would do if he chose to order a chemical strike or other major retaliation against civilians.

That would leave the United States to choose between a loss of credibility and a more expansive — and unpopular — conflict, they said. “So he continues on in defiance — maybe he even launches another chemical attack to put a stick in our eye — and then what?” Mr. Crocker said. “Because once you start down this road, it’s pretty hard to get off it and maintain political credibility.”

For the United States, the challenge is to deliver the intended message to Mr. Assad without opening the door to a takeover by rebels linked to Al Qaeda, the collapse of state institutions, or a major escalation by Syria’s allies. Skeptics doubt that the United States — or anyone else — has the information to calibrate the attack that precisely.

That is partly because the United States is preparing to inject itself into a conflict that is no longer just about Syria, but has become a volatile regional morass that pits Iran and Hezbollah, the Shiite militant group in Lebanon, against Qaeda affiliates backed by Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf benefactors.

Iran’s and Syria’s defense ministers threatened on Friday to unleash attacks on Israel if Mr. Assad was in danger. While Hezbollah has said it would wait to see the scale and nature of the attacks before responding, in practice, analysts close to the organization said, it is probably prepared for any contingency.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Israel; News/Current Events; Russia; US: New York; United Kingdom; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: alissajrubin; annebarnard; iran; israel; lebanon; newyork; newyorktimes; obama; obamasyriaattack; russia; syria; syriachemicalattack; unitedkingdom; waronterror

1 posted on 08/30/2013 8:52:51 PM PDT by kristinn
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To: All


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2 posted on 08/30/2013 8:53:28 PM PDT by musicman (Until I see the REAL Long Form Vault BC, he's just "PRES__ENT" Obama = Without "ID")
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Bfl


3 posted on 08/30/2013 8:57:14 PM PDT by hoosiermama (Obama: "Born in Kenya" Lying now or then)
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To: musicman

Say NO to Obama’s war on Syria....Let the Muslims kill each other. They don’t need our help to do that.


4 posted on 08/30/2013 9:00:47 PM PDT by Dallas59 (Obama: The first "White Black" President.)
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To: kristinn

If the New York Times openly admits that Obama lacks the competence to conduct a simple risk assessment when it comes to matters of war, then why do they continue to support him?


5 posted on 08/30/2013 9:13:54 PM PDT by Hoodat (BENGHAZI - 4 KILLED, 2 MIA)
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To: kristinn
VIDEO: BIDEN THREATENING TO IMPEACH PRESIDENT IF HE LAUNCHES AN ATTACK WITHOUT CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORITY

Obama: ‘President Does Not Have Power Under Constitution to Unilaterally Authorize a Military Attack’


6 posted on 08/30/2013 9:29:33 PM PDT by Cheerio (Barry Hussein Soetoro-0bama=The Complete Destruction of American Capitalism)
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To: Dallas59; All

And the sooner we disentangle from Saudi Arabia the better.


7 posted on 08/30/2013 9:39:01 PM PDT by gleeaikin
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To: gleeaikin

Forget Damascus, bomb Mecca.


8 posted on 08/30/2013 9:39:38 PM PDT by dfwgator
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To: kristinn

Bombing Syria’s chemical weapons could unleash nerve gas clouds.

Because Syria is in a civil war, Assad has to store his chemical weapons in areas that he controls...cities.

Assad controls the major cities while the rebels control lots of the rural countryside.

...which means that 0bama’s bombing of those WMDs could release hyper-toxic clouds of nerve gas...inside those cities.

Does 0bama’s war planning include stationing nearby U.S. assets to evacuate civilians from any nerve gas clouds released in a U.S. attack on Assad’s WMDs?

For certain, the sycophantic news media will blame Assad for having and storing WMDs in cities (the only areas that he controls) instead of blaming 0bama for “not seeing” the release of large clouds of nerve gas inside cities as being an entirely preventable disaster.

Later...

The news media will pump up 0bama’s new UN treaty to ban chemical weapons...completely ignoring 0bama’s culpability in the deaths of thousands of civilians and instead cheering him for advancing his UN treaty against those munitions.

So where’s the plan for evacuating civilians from the nerve gas released out of bombed Syrian chemical weapons?

Is anyone willing to save civilians?


9 posted on 08/30/2013 10:00:03 PM PDT by Southack (Media Bias means that Castro won't be punished for Cuban war crimes against Black Angolans in Africa)
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To: All


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10 posted on 08/30/2013 10:43:09 PM PDT by musicman (Until I see the REAL Long Form Vault BC, he's just "PRES__ENT" Obama = Without "ID")
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To: kristinn

Overlooks risks, unintended consequences, or even goals.


11 posted on 08/30/2013 11:10:22 PM PDT by Vince Ferrer
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To: Southack
Let the muslims handle this. This is in-house fighting between differing muslim factions. It has nothing to do with the people of the United States, and obozo had better keep his nose out of it. It will be up to the other muslim countries to deal with Syria. It will be up to them to save the civilians.
12 posted on 08/31/2013 12:51:48 AM PDT by itssme
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Comment #13 Removed by Moderator

To: A Navy Vet

I’m trying to figure out where your coming from and intending to go considering what is in play in the Syrian matter. I served overseas in WWII and was glad the bombs avoided a very costly war in Japan. My only brother was killed on Okinawa just a few months earlier. We both as children of immigrants believed the USA was worth fighting for. I do not like wars, big and small even strikes. I detest Islam and It’s duel forces of social and political bondage by any useful means. If necessary I am for taking Sharia out/off of the USA scene as it is certainly a political cancer. War is dirty and needs a good cause. The situation in Syria doesn’t come up to my need for war, strike or total, though stupid acts by stupid politicians could easily change the dynamics.


14 posted on 08/31/2013 2:15:31 AM PDT by noinfringers2
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To: kristinn

“Experts Fear U.S. Plan to Strike Syria Overlooks Risks”

It was NOT overlooked. The pos in the wh has been planning this for a couple of years. And if anyone thinks assad is a bad guy, wait till they see what future plans presbo has.


15 posted on 08/31/2013 2:43:36 AM PDT by freeangel ( (free speech is only good until someone else doesn't like it)
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To: freeangel
"It was NOT overlooked. The pos in the wh has been planning this for a couple of years. And if anyone thinks assad is a bad guy, wait till they see what future plans presbo has."

Exactly; the US has been arming and training the Islamist rebels for the past two years. The US is much to blame for the deaths in the so-called Syrian civil war. Obama expected that Assad would go quickly as another step to setting up the Greater Caliphate and now Obama is doubling down because his plans have not worked out.

16 posted on 08/31/2013 3:26:44 AM PDT by Truth29
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To: kristinn

Interesting article.

On a related subject, has anyone seen Waldo boehner? Where’s Waldo?


17 posted on 08/31/2013 5:09:34 AM PDT by RKBA Democrat (Power disintegrates when people withdraw their obedience and support)
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To: kristinn
WOW! You beat me to posting this. The New York Times, the source, is as important as this article's scathing criticism of the Mahdi's proposed war. If the Slimes is publishing an article that could have been written by group of FReepers about his magnificent little adventure, then he's in real trouble and a lot of libs are going to be dropping their support.
18 posted on 08/31/2013 7:00:10 AM PDT by libstripper (])
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To: Southack
In addition, what happens if, with the Mahdi's help, AQ and MB win the war? Then they'll have Assad's whole arsenal, including the chemical weapons. Now, of course, there's ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE that such wonderful, responsible people who so love America would ever detonate them here, like in NYC.
19 posted on 08/31/2013 7:05:25 AM PDT by libstripper (])
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...

Thanks kristinn.
Diplomats familiar with Mr. Assad say there is no way to know how he would respond, and they question what the United States would do if he chose to order a chemical strike or other major retaliation against civilians... choose between a loss of credibility and a more expansive... conflict... "So he continues on in defiance -- maybe he even launches another chemical attack to put a stick in our eye -- and then what?" ...the challenge is to deliver the intended message... without opening the door to a takeover by rebels linked to Al Qaeda, the collapse of state institutions, or a major escalation by Syria’s allies... Iran and Hezbollah...

20 posted on 08/31/2013 7:37:32 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (It's no coincidence that some "conservatives" echo the hard left.)
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