Obama Speeds Up Limited Air Strike, No-Fly Zones Preparations For Syria

US President Barack Obama has ordered the US Navy and Air Force to accelerate preparations for a limited air offensive against the Assad regime and the imposition of no-fly zones over Syria, DEBKAfile reports.

Their mission will be to knock out Assad's central regime and military command centers so as to shake regime stability and restrict Syrian army and air force activity for subduing rebel action and wreaking violence on civilian populations.

Too many Russians for "land options." Too many Iranians as well. I suspect NATO Air, as in Libya, and some combination of Turks/French, etc. to secure "safe areas" for Syrian civilians. Or try to. But any/all options are subject to major fail.

Have the Brits/US re-built their Tomahawk supplies since Libya attacks?

Tomahawks and stand off systems yes. stealth, since the F-117 is retired, the F-35 still trying to make it into production and the F-22 designed for air superoirity and having problems with its oxygen systems, are “No Go.”

B-2's are still available, and they were used over Libya.

My main point is that Syria will not be as easy as Libya from an air war aspect. The land options are: 1 - to go in through the small area of Syrian coast line and fight our way to Damascus; 2 - land in Lebanon and fight (?) our way through it to get to Syria; 3 - go in through Israel and that opens up, I can’t even begin to imagine what.

I don't think there's a land option - it's a career-ending political stinker for any politician who endorses it. If our elites could be counted on to pick someone simultaneously good for Syria's non-Sunnis and our interests to succeed Assad, I'd favor intervention. However, our sorry record in Iraq (Maliki) and Afghanistan (Karzai) leads me to believe that such hopes are chimerical.

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