Posted on 08/28/2013 7:06:18 AM PDT by kristinn
As the war drums for Syria get louder, let this thread serve as a repository for news, background, Tweets, photos, video, on-the-ground reports, etc., as was done recently with Egypt.
Syrian resistance battle.
Flashback 2007: As Bush Admin Tries To Isolate Syria, Pelosi Meets With Assad, Undermining
Cowboy Byte ^ | 9/1/13 | Cowboy Byte
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday for talks criticized by the White House as undermining American efforts to isolate the hard-line Arab country. Pelosi said Assad assured her of his willingness to engage in peace talks with Israel, and that she and other members of her congressional delegation raised their concern about militants crossing from Syria into Iraq, as well the Israeli soldiers kidnapped by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the Palestinian group Hamas.
(Excerpt) Read more at cowboybyte.com ...
REUTERS:
Many of the lawmakers say the draft authorization of the use of armed forces submitted by the White House is too broad and too open ended.
Meeting has now ended after about 3 hours.
by deborah.charles 3:58 PM
Harkin on Classified Syria Briefing: ‘Frankly Raised More Questions Than It Answered’
“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.
The atrocious use of chemical weapons against civilian is an affront to human values and a violation of international law. It should be condemned by the international community as a whole,” liberal Democrat Tom Harkin says in a statement released after today’s classified Capitol Hill briefing.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3061397/posts
Syria resolution will be ‘a very tough sell’ in Congress, lawmakers say
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323932604579049522532943330.html
REUTERS:
Exclusive: USS Nimitz carrier group rerouted for possible help with Syria
By Andrea Shalal-Esa
WASHINGTON - The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and other ships in its strike group are heading west toward the Red Sea to help support a limited U.S. strike on Syria, if needed, defense officials said on Sunday.
The Nimitz carrier strike group, which includes four destroyers and a cruiser, has no specific orders to move to the eastern Mediterranean at this point, but is moving west in the Arabian Sea so it can do so if asked. It was not immediately clear when the ships would enter the Red Sea, but they had not arrived by Sunday evening, said one official.
“It’s about leveraging the assets to have them in place should the capabilities of the carrier strike group and the presence be needed,” said the official.
President Barack Obama on Saturday delayed imminent cruise missile strikes by five destroyers off the coast of Syria, and sought approval from Congress, a move that effectively put any strike on hold for at least nine days.
by Derek Caney 6:21 PM
Syria vote complicates U.S. fiscal debate; stop-gap more likely
By David Lawder
WASHINGTON - A vote in Congress over whether to launch U.S. attacks against Syria is expected to wreak collateral damage - leaving too little time on Capitol Hill to deal with fast-approaching fall deadlines to fund government agencies and raise the debt limit.
That increases the likelihood that U.S. lawmakers will agree to a short-term government funding measure to get them through the fall, postponing for another day any broader deal or big showdowns.
The House of Representatives had previously scheduled only nine legislative days in September after they return from summer recess on September 9, prompting analysts to view this as barely enough to pass government funding legislation in time to avoid a federal shutdown as the new fiscal year starts October 1.
But now much of that time is likely to be eaten up with a contentious debate over authorizing the use of military force to punish Syria, analysts say.
by Derek Caney 6:20 PM
RT:
RT @RT_com 23m
DETAILS: USS Nimitz group includes 4 destroyers and a cruiser, could join 5 US destroyers on standby to strike Syria http://on.rt.com/g4nb6i
RT @RT_com 42m
MORE: USS Nimitz aircraft carrier group rerouted from Indian ocean towards the Red Sea and possibly the Mediterranean http://on.rt.com/g4nb6i
RT @RT_com 57m
BREAKING: USS Nimitz aircraft carrier group rerouted to help US strike on #Syria, if needed - report via @Reuters http://on.rt.com/g4nb6i
RT @RT_com 1h
Kerry: ‘US tests show sarin used in Syria chemical attack’ http://on.rt.com/h3h6qm
RT @RT_com 2h
France, following US and UK, applies brakes on Syrian war rhetoric http://on.rt.com/mmrkf1 #Syria
U.S. military officers have deep doubts about impact, wisdom of a U.S. strike on Syria
Figure the odds....Military experts versus a Mulatto Muslim tinkerbell and his brain damaged side kick......Im going with the Military that is NOT in the Pentagon to deal with this issue...since the JCOS are nothing more than knee pad wearing pussies to the IDIOT in chief
...”“I would ask John Kerry, How can you ask a man to be the first one to die for a mistake?” Paul said...”...
To that I would add...”How can you ask our soldiers, after fighting in Iraq and Aphganistan...to fight on the side of the very terrorists they fought against in those nations???
http://www.politico.com/politico44/2013/08/after-syria-statement-obama-golfs-171546.html
Right after shipping responsibility for authorizing an attack on Syria, President Barack Obama returned to his comfort zone: The golf course.
Obama’s motorcade left the White House at 2:30 p.m., about 30 minutes after completing his statement.
Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are playing at Fort Belvoir, Va., along with White House trip director Marvin Nicholson and Walter Nicholson, according to the White House.
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