http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3058163/posts
US military reportedly updates list of potential targets in Syria as pressure mounts on Obama
JPost ^ | 8/23/2013 | JPost Staff
The Pentagon has updated the list of possible targets in Syria should US President Barack Obama decide to intervene militarily in the country, CNN reported on Friday, citing a US Defense Department official.
The report came as pressure mounts on Obama to take action against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad in the wake of allegations that he killed more than a 1,000 people in chemical weapons attacks on Wednesday.
The US defense official told CNN that target lists for air strikes in Syria had been updated, and plans for using cruise missiles capable of targeting Syria without entering the country’s airspace had also been included.
The official stated that the US had made no decision to act in Syria, but rather the targets were updated “to give the president a current and comprehensive range of choices.”
Assad’s army continues to move forces and equipment making flexible planning a necessity, the official told CNN.
The updated list includes mobile targets that would disrupt Assad’s ability to conduct further chemical weapons attacks.
Obama and his national security team had a four hour Oval Office meeting on military options Friday, focusing on cruise missile targets, but no decisions were taken.
The top Democrat on the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee urged Obama on Friday to order air strikes against Assad’s government after the apparent chemical attacks.
(Excerpt) Read more at jpost.com ...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/23/us-syria-crisis-obama-idUSBRE97M0E420130823
Initial Western intelligence finds Syrian forces used chemical weapons
WASHINGTON | Fri Aug 23, 2013 6:30pm EDT
(Reuters) - U.S. and allied intelligence agencies have made a preliminary assessment that chemical weapons were used by Syrian forces in an attack near Damascus this week, likely with high-level approval from the government of President Bashar al-Assad, according to American and European security sources.
http://rt.com/news/us-missile-attack-syria-929/
US readies possible missile strike against Syria - report
Was there an asperin factory nearby?