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Obama administration official confirms to CNN that Israel attacked missiles and equipment it felt might be transferred to Hezbollah; Al-Arabiya reports Israel destroyed SA-8 missiles in Damascus and Latakia. Israel conducted air raids against a Syrian missile base near the port city of Latakia early on Thursday, according to an anonymous US administration official. The official, speaking to CNN, said Israel targeted missiles and related equipment out of concern that they would be transferred to Hezbollah. It is unclear why the US would leak such information, as it could increase the pressure on Syria to retaliate against Israel.

(CNN) -- Israeli warplanes struck a military base near the Syrian port city of Latakia on Thursday, an Obama administration official told CNN. An explosion at a missile storage site in the area was widely reported in the Israeli press, but an attack has not been confirmed by the Israeli government. The target, according to the Obama administration official, was missiles and related equipment the Israelis felt might be transferred to the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah. The official declined to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the information. When asked for comment, an Israel Defense Forces spokeswoman told...

Unclear who is behind the attack on base located in stronghold of Assad's Alawites, but Syrian, Lebanese media accuse Israel; Channel 2 reports attack's target were S-125 surface-to-air missiles.

If there is a country Saudi Arabia and Iran despise more than Israel, it’s each other. When it comes to Syria, Iran’s most prominent ally, the prospect of removing Bashar al-Assad has a pavlovian effect on the Saudis. ... Putin beat Barack Obama and John Kerry like a couple of drums. While Obama saw an opportunity to spin a resounding defeat into an opportunity to back down under the guise of a diplomatic stalemate as the preferred option, there were consequences. One of those consequences involves Saudi Arabia’s anger with the U.S. for not dealing with Assad. Consequences aren’t necessarily...

Al-Qaeda-linked Syrian rebels continue to haunt the predominantly Christian town of Maaloula as regime fighters struggle to regain power there. Maaloula, about 35 miles northeast of Damascus, the capital, is nestled under a large cliff, the summit of which is controlled by the rebels. “Invisible” snipers continue to pepper the residents below. “We never see them, but we hear the shots fired by their Dragunovs,” the Russians’ favorite sniper rifle, said a soldier as he hid behind a wall, Agence France-Presse reported. ... al-Qaeda-linked Syrian rebels in Maaloula had forced at least one person to convert to Islam at gunpoint...

t will likely come as no surprise but the political one-up-manship continues as the Obama White House try to rescue themselves from a face-melting Putin Op-Ed... As Politico reports, WH press secretary Jay Carney stated: “If we were to see a situation unfold where Assad were to give up his chemical weapons to international supervision that would be an enormous accomplishment ... would be due to the decisions made by the Russian leadership but also the decisions made by the United States, by the president, to take the approach he has taken in response to the horrifying use of chemical...

A Washington scholar whose writings on Syria were touted by top U.S. officials in making the case for a military strike has been fired from the Institute for the Study of War for allegedly lying about her education credentials. The development comes after Elizabeth O'Bagy's credibility and objectivity had come under scrutiny over her work with a Syrian opposition advocacy group. The institute, where she had worked as a senior analyst, on Wednesday posted a terse statement on its website claiming she also misled the organization about having a Ph.D. "The Institute for the Study of War has learned and...

Hackers claiming to be affiliated with Anonymous launched a widespread cyber attack on Israeli citizens, government institutions, and corporations on Wednesday, according to Internet chatter and postings from the self-described hackers. The attack is purportedly being carried out by a nebulous group of hackers who claim affiliation with both Anonymous and the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA), which supports embattled President Bashar al Assad. Timed to occur on the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, the hackers took aim at Israeli banks and government websites over what they claimed are the Jewish state’s multiple crimes. The hackers alternately blamed Israel for...

RAF Typhoon fighters won a mid-air showdown with two Syrian warplanes heading towards Britain’s main base in Cyprus, the Sunday People reports. The dramatic confrontation came after President Bashar Al-Assad’s air chiefs sent two Russian-made Sukhoi Su-24s to probe British air defenses, the report said. The Syrian bombers refused to respond to repeated attempts by the control tower at the UK’s Akrotiri air base to contact them. RAF pilots flying the advanced combat jet were scrambled before the Sukhois could enter our 14-mile air exclusion zone. The Typhoons – which can scream from runway standstill to seven miles high in...

According to USAID (United States Agency For International Development), the federal agency in charge of distributing the vast majority of foreign aid monies to other countries, United States taxpayers have paid for over one billion dollars in foreign aid packages to help support the “Syrian Humanitarian Response." Despite the threat of continued chemical attacks against the Syrian people that has served as the focal point of rallying cries for advocates of US military intervention (including the Obama administration), The Daily Beast reported that gas masks were not among the items

American government knew days beforehand that the Syrian regime was about to launch the chemical attack that later killed more than a thousand people. The disclosure, raises all sorts of uncomfortable questions for the American government. First and foremost: What, if anything, did it do to notify the Syrian opposition of the pending attack?

(CNSNews.com) - While President Barack Obama is now asking Congress to authorize him to use military force against the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad because that regime used chemical weapons on its own people, the State Department is maintaining a travel warning advising Americans not to travel to Syria because the al-Nusrah Front, the al Qaeda affiliate in Syria--which is particiapting in the rebellion seeking to overthrow Assad--has carried out about 600 attacks in the country since November 2011. These al Qaeda terrorist attacks, according to the State Department, have killed many Syrian civilians. "There is also a threat from...

Senator McCain has had a busy day making a variety of confused statements 1. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is “euphoric” about President Obama’s surprise announcement Saturday that he will seek congressional authorization for a limited strike in the war-torn country, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Sunday on “Face the Nation.” 2. Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., criticized President Barack Obama’s plans for limited air strikes on Syria as “cosmetic” Friday, saying the failure of the United States to intervene in the country’s civil war was “shameful.” 3. “We’re in a bit of a dilemma here, because I think Senator Lindsey Graham...

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The moves are a setback for the U.S. bid to strike Syria militarily for its alleged chemical weapons use. WASHINGTON — The Obama administration's move to punish Syria's government for allegedly using chemical weapons in a deadly attack last week appeared to suffer a setback Wednesday when the U.S. failed to get United Nations approval for use of force and British support was thrown into question. The collapse of diplomatic efforts aimed at securing a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Syria was expected. The British impediment was not.

Rand Paul in May, proven correct later in August...

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.

A senior official in the Syrian army warned the United States and its partners on Tuesday that waging a full-scale war on Syria would be reciprocated with an immediate attack on Tel Aviv. "If Damascus comes under attack, Tel Aviv will be targeted too and a full-scale war against Syria will actually issue a license for attacking Israel," the Syrian army source told the Iranian Fars news agency. "Rest assured that if Syria is attacked, Israel will also be set on fire and such an attack will, in turn, engage Syria's neighbors," he added. The source also warned the U.S....

The UK is drawing up contingency plans for military action in response to the chemical weapons attack in Syria, Downing Street has said. David Cameron will also consider a recall of Parliament when he returns to No 10 later on Tuesday. MPs from all parties have demanded they be consulted before any move to support military action is taken. The suspected chemical attack took place on Wednesday near Damascus, and reportedly killed more than 300 people. Syrian rebels say the Assad government was responsible, but it blames rebel forces - saying footage of the attack was "fabricated". Mr Cameron is...

Secretary of State John Kerry says the use of chemical weapons in Syria is "undeniable" and that the U.S. is considering how to respond:

Helping them with your tax dollars to unilaterally overthrow Syria’s president and replace with the Muslim Brotherhood that is. via As Syria war escalates, Americans cool to U.S. intervention: Reuters/Ipsos poll | Reuters. (Reuters) – Americans strongly oppose U.S. intervention in Syria’s civil war and believe Washington should stay out of the conflict even if reports that Syria’s government used deadly chemicals to attack civilians are confirmed, a Reuters/Ipsos poll says. About 60 percent of Americans surveyed said the United States should not intervene in Syria’s civil war, while just 9 percent thought President Barack Obama should act. More Americans...

U.S. President Barack Obama has ordered local spy agencies to urgently probe claims that Syrian forces launched a horrific chemical attack on civilians, including children, aides said Thursday. Officials said they could not yet be sure the deadly arms had killed as many as 1,300 people outside Damascus, as the rebels have claimed. The Obama administration is facing rising political pressure for a tough response to the attack, which could have again infringed U.S. "red lines" against chemical weapons use by President Bashar Al-Assad's regime. State Department spokesman Jen Psaki said that Obama had asked intelligence agencies to urgently evaluate...

« CNN on al Qaeda's 'encrypted messaging system' | Main | Bloomberg News on Zawahiri's communications » Link lwj-print-icon-2.jpg Comments (3) ShareThis Free Syrian Army commander celebrates victory with al Qaeda affiliate By Bill RoggioAugust 10, 2013 10:38 AM In this New York Times article on the influx of foreign fighters into Syria (more than 6,000 foreign fighters are now estimated to be fighting with jihadist groups) is a report of a Free Syrian Army commander celebrating the capture of the Minnigh airport in Aleppo with a leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, an al Qaeda...

These are the "rebels" Obama is sending lethal weapons to. And it's not just him. Doddering old clueless McCain is right there taking photos with kidnappers and terrorists: Disturbing report alleges killings of 450 Kurds in Syria" RT, August 9, 2013 (thanks to The Religion of Peace) Unconfirmed reports have emerged detailing a new massacre in which 450 Kurds - including 120 children - were allegedly slaughtered by al-Qaeda-linked rebels fighting against the Syrian government. The report has sparked international concern. According to Iranian TV channel Al-Alam, militants from the Jabhat al-Nusra Front attacked the town of Tal Abyad on...

With conditions continuing to deteriorate in Syria, the Obama administration is making a major policy shift by agreeing for the first time to allow thousands of new Syrian refugees into the United States, The Cable has learned. The numbers are relatively small: just 2,000 refugees, compared to an estimated two million people who have fled Syria during the civil war. But it's a significant increase from the 90 or so Syrian refugees who have been permanently admitted to the U.S. in the last two years. And it's not entirely uncontroversial. The refugees, mostly women and children, will be screened for...

He played the great Klingon warrior Kang on three versions of "Star Trek" and a Native American on ABC's "Broken Arrow." Michael Ansara, the rugged character actor who played Klingon commander Kang on three different Star Trek TV series, has died. He was 91 ... Born in a small village in Syria to American parents, Ansara starred as Native Americans on two 1950s primetime series ...

Catholic Priest Beheaded in Syria by Al-Qaeda-Linked Rebels as Men and Children Take Pictures and Cheer Jun. 30, 2013 7:37am Sharona Schwartz Syrian Catholic priest Francois Murad killed last weekend by jihadi fighters was beheaded, according to a report by Catholic Online which is linking to video purportedly showing the brutal murder. As TheBlaze reported last week, Murad, 49, was setting up a monastery in Gassanieh, northern Syria. Last Sunday, on the Christian leader’s Sabbath, extremist militants trying to topple President Bashar Assad breached the monastery and grabbed Murad. While earlier reports suggested Murad may have been shot to death,...

According to Syrian Truth’s Facebook page, the above photo is of a toddler living in the Deir ez-Zor Governate in eastern Syria, bordering Iraq. She was tied up by members of the U.S.-supported “Free Syrian Army” — which is dominated by foreign, Sunni jihadis — and made to watch as her mother and father were killed for being Shia. Here is how the Obama administration is using your tax dollars — mockingly in the name of “freedom.”

Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), two lawmakers who are part of the gang of eight immigration bill, are unaware of the administration's willingness to accept thousands of Syrian refugees into the United States. Rubio, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, told Breitbart News, “Well this country has a long history of asylum and taking people who are fleeing oppression. On the other hand, given the nature of the Syrian conflict, like any asylum seeker, that they be carefully vetted. That’s my initial take. It’s the first I’ve heard of it.” Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon have taken...

Just thought I'd call Obama's arming Syrian rebels for what it REALLY is; America training and arming terrorists who've committed atrocities just as bad as those committed against them. When evil fights evil, we should just let them kill each other! There is no 'good guy' in this fight and we should stay OUT of it. Obama is arming Al Qaeda. Why is America doing this, to help spread the Caliphate? To further the reach of Sharia Law?

In a sharp escalation of the U.S. role in Syria's bloody civil war, the White House announced late Thursday that it will provide military aid to rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad after confirming that his government used chemical weapons on the opposition. Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes told reporters on a conference call that President Barack Obama had heard pleas from Syria's rebel Supreme Military Council (SMC) for more help. "Our aim is to be responsive," Rhodes said, underlining that the new assistance would have "direct military purposes."

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The Syrian army has begun deploying advanced surface-to-surface missiles and has aimed them at Tel Aviv, the British Sunday Times reports. According to the report, Syria is preparing to strike Israel in case the Jewish State launches another attack on its territory. The army has received orders to strike central Israel in case additional attacks against Syria are carried out, according to the Sunday Times. The information was reportedly obtained by reconnaissance satellites that were tracking the Syrian forces. According to the report, Syria was deploying advanced Tishreen missiles, which are capable of carrying a warhead of a half a...

Testimony from victims of the Syrian conflict suggests rebels have used the nerve agent sarin, according to a leading United Nations investigator. Carla del Ponte told Swiss TV there were "strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof". However, she said her panel had not yet seen evidence of government forces using chemical weapons. Syria has recently come under growing Western pressure over the alleged use of such weapons. Ms del Ponte, who serves on the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, said in an interview with Swiss-Italian TV: "Our investigators have been in neighbouring countries interviewing victims,...

(Reuters) - U.N. human rights investigators have gathered testimony from casualties of Syria's civil war and medical staff indicating that rebel forces have used the nerve agent sarin, one of the lead investigators said on Sunday. The United Nations independent commission of inquiry on Syria has not yet seen evidence of government forces having used chemical weapons, which are banned under international law, said commission member Carla Del Ponte.

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US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel urged caution Wednesday over an Israeli claim that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons, saying all evidence must be weighed carefully as such allegations are "serious business". Hagel indicated he had been caught off guard by claims from an Israeli general this week that Syria had fired chemical agents against rebels in recent months, the AFP news agency reported. "When I was in Israel they did not give me that assessment. I guess it wasn't complete," Hagel told reporters in Cairo on a tour of the Middle East that included a three-day visit to Israel....

Flanked by almost 20 men with rifles, Omar Abu al-Chechen kneels on a carpet and delivers a rousing speech urging fellow Muslims to support the 'jihad' against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Dressed almost entirely in black, the militant from Russia's Chechnya region declares an Islamist state is within reach. Fellow fighters from the brigade of foreign militants he leads translate his Russian words into Arabic. "Jihad needs very many things. Firstly it needs money. Much is dependent on money today for jihad," said al-Chechen, his nomme de guerre, the leader of what rebels and websites call the Brigade of Migrants,...

No, they don't say it quite like that. But after years of hypocrisy, the Obama administration has admitted that while it declined to arm Syrian rebels directly for fear that weapons would end up in the hands of al-Qaeda forces, it has been quietly vetting and training anti-Assad forces while others provided weapons all around. Now the training is out in the open, and Secretary of State Kerry has pledged $60 million in "non-lethal aid" to the rebels. (Plus $250 million to Egypt, while Israel may take a hit of $150 million from sequestration -- makes you wonder.) American assistance...

Syrian rebels have threatened to retake Golan Heights from Israel, and in response the IDF has begun reinforcing its presence along the border. In the meantime, the forces are focusing on providing security for contract workers building Israel's new border fence with Syria - a fence intent on providing Israeli security in a post-Assad era. The head of the IDF Operation Directorate has outlined a new operational plan for soldiers manning the border in wake of rebel advances towards the border region. For now, the IDF's chief concern is gun attacks on those charged with building Israel's new border fence,...

Syrian jihadist rebels from the Al Furkan Regiments have posted an Internet video that shows them just a few dozen feet away from an IDF patrol, on the Israel-Syria border. According to Yoni Alper of Terror Watch, the video was shot next to a UN position and a man seen may be a UN soldier. The location of the video is Kakhtania, which is a part of Kuneitra, on the Golan Heights. The jihadists were travelling in a truck with an anti-aircraft gun mounted on it. The jihadis appear to be boasting and praising Allah for having reached the location.

Al-Qaeda terrorist's son an Obama fundraiser Here's another 'associate' that Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Hussein Obama may want to throw under the bus. This is a Debbie Schlussel exclusive. Al Churbaji is a Syrian national currently living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, from where he is fighting the Department of Homeland Security's endeavors to deport him. If successful, this will be the second deportation for Al-Churbaji, after a return to the U.S. that violated federal immigration and deportation policies. More on that later. But even if Al-Churbaji is deported, at least two of his six children, a son and a daughter,...

Egyptian security forces arrested a man, apparently a Syrian, who allegedly tried to attack Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a visit to a mosque in Cairo. The attack was allegedly spurred by the man's opposition to Iran's support of the Syrian...

MOSCOW (AP) - Russian news agencies say the navy is sending another ship to the Syrian port of Tartus, where Russia has a naval base.

Government forces have fired at least a half-dozen short-range ballistic missiles at rebel groups in northern Syria over the past several days, according to U.S. officials, a potentially significant escalation of a civil war that has killed more than 40,000 people. U.S. officials and the group Human Rights Watch also alleged Wednesday that Syrian government forces are dropping incendiary devices similar to napalm weapons on rebel fighters in populated areas. The officials described the tactics as acts of desperation as rebels gain momentum in the nearly two-year-old fight to oust President Bashar al-Assad.

Israel's ambassador to the United States warned Sunday that any evidence of chemical weapons being passed from the Assad regime to extremist groups like Hezbollah would be a "game-changer," and said that would be a "red line" for Israel. The remark comes amid claims that the Syrian regime is mixing and moving the components for the deadly sarin nerve gas. Ambassador Michael Oren said he could not confirm those reports but made clear that Israel is watching the situation "very carefully." "Were those weapons to pass into the wrong hands -- Hezbollah's hands for example -- that would be a...

U.S. convicts "Prince of Marbella" of arms deal Thu Nov 20, 2008 1:17pm EST By Edith Honan NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. federal jury convicted a Syrian arms dealer and a co-defendant on Thursday of conspiring to sell $1 million in weapons...Monzer al-Kassar, 62, a longtime resident of Spain known as the "Prince of Marbella" for his lifestyle in the glitzy seaside town... Kassar has been selling weapons since the 1970s to the Palestinian Liberation Front and clients in Nicaragua, Bosnia, Croatia, Iran, Iraq and Somalia. In 1995, Kassar was tried and acquitted of supplying arms that were used...

IPT News June 9, 2010 SNIPPET: "The Turkish-based charity that helped drive last week's deadly confrontation with Israeli commandos has deep ties to Hamas and other terrorist groups. The Hamas ties are not in question. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and IHH officials simply do not acknowledge that Hamas is a terrorist group." SNIPPET: "U.S. officials have expressed concern over the fact that "IHH representatives have met with senior Hamas officials in Turkey, Syria, and Gaza over the past three years," but IHH is not a designated terrorist organization in the United States. It's fair to ask, why not?"...

As thousands of refugees flee violence inside of Syria, foreign fighters are streaming into it. "So long as (Syrian President Bashar) Assad refuses to go and Syria's transition is blocked, the danger grows of more foreign fighters, including extremists of the al Qaeda type infiltrating Syria," State Department counterterrorism chief Daniel Benjamin told reporters Tuesday.

Syrian rebels have acquired shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, NBC News reported late Tuesday night. According to the report, Free Syrian Army rebels claim they now have nearly two dozen surface-to-air missiles smuggled from Turkey. The exact type of missile was not mentioned in the report. Such a weapon, however, would offer a significant defense against helicopter gunships that Syrian government forces have deployed against rebel strongholds such as Aleppo, where intense fighting has raged for nearly two weeks.