Syria Responds to Secy of State Kerry!!

[n david]

Breaking:

The Syrian Foreign Minister issued a statement welcoming the Russian proposal to turn over its stockpile of CWs to international control. Russia also pushed Syria to also dismantle them to avoid a US-led military strike.

This could be a major game-changer! It's interesting that this news comes after the G20 summit, when Putin first started talking about this kind of settlement with other leaders; it's right after Secy of State Kerry gave a new demand that Assad give up his CWs by the end of the week or face military strikes; and it's the day before Obama gives yet another nationally televised speech.

It's no secret that Obama would prefer a negotiated settlement over being embarrassed by Congress rejecting his authorization for military strikes. He's been looking for a way out, and this gives him just that.

In a surprise move, Russia promised Monday to push its ally Syria to place its chemical weapons under international control and then dismantle them quickly to avert U.S. strikes.

The announcement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov came a few hours after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that Syrian President Bashar Assad could resolve the crisis surrounding the alleged use of chemical weapons by his forces by surrendering control of "every single bit" of his arsenal to the international community by the end of the week.

Kerry added that he thought Assad "isn't about to do it," but Lavrov, who just wrapped a round of talks in Moscow with his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moallem, said that Moscow would try to convince the Syrians.

"If the establishment of international control over chemical weapons in that country would allow avoiding strikes, we will immediately start working with Damascus," Lavrov said.

"We are calling on the Syrian leadership to not only agree on placing chemical weapons storage sites under international control, but also on its subsequent destruction and fully joining the treaty on prohibition of chemical weapons," he said.

Lavrov said that he has already handed over the proposal to al-Moallem and expects a "quick, and, hopefully, positive answer."

SOURCE LINK

"Syria welcomes international control over its chemical weapons"

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem on Monday said his country welcomed a proposal by Moscow to submit Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles to international control.

The surprise announcement came following a meeting in Moscow between Moallem and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and just hours after US Secretary of State John Kerry said such a move — which Kerry made plain he considered highly improbable — could avert a limited US strike on the country in retaliation for a lethal August 21 chemical weapons attack.

“Syria welcomes the Russian proposal out of concern for the lives of the Syrian people, the security of our country and because it believes in the wisdom of the Russian leadership that seeks to avert American aggression against our people,” Moallem said.

Moallem said his government was ready to host the UN team, and insisted that Syria is ready to use all channels to convince the Americans that it wasn’t behind the attack.

He added that Syria was ready for “full cooperation with Russia to remove any pretext for aggression.”

Lavrov said that Russia would continue to promote a peaceful settlement and may try to convene a gathering of all Syrian opposition figures to join in negotiations. He added that a US attack on Syria would deal a fatal blow to peace efforts.

Lavrov wouldn’t say how Russia could respond to a possible US attack on Syria, saying that “we wouldn’t like to proceed from a negative scenario and would primarily take efforts to prevent a military intervention.”

SOURCE LINK

NOW the question is....will the terrorists also give up their CW cache? And if they won't, will the US use military strikes against them?

[n david]

Obama should thank Putin tonight in his nationally televised address, because Putin just saved his rear. Obama painted himself into a corner with his "red line" remarks and lack of any real evidence linking Assad to the CW attack. He was likely to be embarrassed this week, like UK PM Cameron, when the House votes against authorizing any military action in Syria.

But now Obama has an out, thanks to Putin.

Not surprisingly, the terrorists are completely against this plan to put CWs under international control. They want US airstrikes to help them overthrow Assad. As stated in the previous post above, now the question is, will Obama demand the terrorists give up their own stockpile of CWs?

[scotty]

Whoa, time out.

Where is your evidence that the terrorist have CW's?? You have been on this kick that the terrorist are behind the recent attack but you (and nobody else for that matter) have any proof whatsoever to support the claim.

I am also looking at this from a different point of view. It is being said that Kerry's remark was an "off the wall" comment that Russia picked up and ran with it. I think Obama gave Kerry a "Gibsmack" yesterday or this morning. The president's secretary of state completely undermined him with one comment. Kerry could come out of this looking better than his boss.

But here is what you have to look forward to. And this will obviously play into your opinion. Assad is moving a portion of his CW's as we speak. Then after the rest are turned over he can use them at will and blame it on the terrorist because, after all, his were all taken.

Equally concerning is how much of this stuff will "dissappear" before, during, and after it is secured.

Another side of this is now the "true" rebels will have no faith in the international community to protect them, (since CW's are not neccesary to kill civilians) even now Assad is shelling a Damascus neighborhood when the above article was released. So who are the people going to turn to? You guess it, the terrorist. Who still may win this war, or maybe not, who knows. Both sides hate us and Israel so maybe we just sit back and hope they kill each other off. Just wonder how many generations of Syrians it will take to finally forgive all of us for turning a blind eye while they are systematically murdered.

[Pressing-On]

I hold the same view as Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) - Congress needs more answers on Benghazi before it can make an “informed decision” on a military strike against Syria.

During a discussion on the “unanswered questions” surrounding the Benghazi terror attack, the GOP congressman suggested that the State Department and CIA could have been stockpiling weapons for Syrian rebels when the U.S. compound came under attack on Sept. 11, 2012.

http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/08/re...enghazi-video/

[n david]

Originally Posted by scotty

Where is your evidence that the terrorist have CW's?? You have been on this kick that the terrorist are behind the recent attack but you (and nobody else for that matter) have any proof whatsoever to support the claim.

It's known that the terrorists have CWs, in fact, the WH dossier on its "evidence" against Assad states the following:

We assess that the opposition has not used chemical weapons.

Our intelligence sources in the Damascus area did not detect any indications in the days prior to the attack that opposition affiliates were planning to use chemical weapons.

Obviously the WH knows they have CWs. Stating that they haven't used CWs is not the same as stating they don't possess them.

WH SOURCE LINK

There's also this bit of news from Turkey -- Syrian terrorists were caught with a cylinder full of SARIN.

Russia has called on Turkey to share its findings in the case of Syrian rebels who were seized on the Turkish-Syrian border with a 2kg cylinder full of nerve gas sarin.

Russia’s top foreign official Sergei Lavrov tolday said the Kremlin wanted to get clear on the issue of chemical weapons used in Syria, since the allegation had taken on the role of a trading card in the conflict,becoming a focus of constant provocations.

“I do not rule out that some force may want to use it [the rumour] to say that the “red line” has been crossed and a foreign intervention is needed,” the minister said.

“We are still waiting on a comprehensive report from our Turkish colleagues,” he added,citing the incident when a gang of terrorists carrying a canister with nerve gas sarin was arrested inside the Turkish territory about two weeks ago.

SOURCE LINK

There was a chemical weapon attack in Aleppo which Russia documented and sent to the UN, claiming the terrorists were behind that attack. Thus far, Obama and the WH have ignored that attack, which (IMO) shows the intel they're presenting is not only circumstantial, but also largely fabricated and ignores the threat the terrorists pose with their cache of CWs.

LINK

Russia says a deadly March sarin attack in an Aleppo suburb was carried out by Syrian rebels, not forces loyal to President Bashar Assad, and it has delivered a 100-page report laying out its evidence to the United Nations.

A statement posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry website late Wednesday said the report included detailed scientific analysis of samples that Russian technicians collected at the site of the alleged attack, Khan al Asal in northern Syria. The attack killed 26 people.

A U.N. spokesman, Farhan Haq, confirmed that Russia delivered the report in July.

SOURCE LINK

The key points of the report have been given as follows:

• the shell used in the incident “does not belong to the standard ammunition of the Syrian army and was crudely according to type and parameters of the rocket-propelled unguided missiles manufactured in the north of Syria by the so-called Bashair al-Nasr brigade”;

• RDX, which is also known as hexogen or cyclonite, was used as the bursting charge for the shell, and it is “not used in standard chemical munitions”;

• soil and shell samples contain “the non-industrially synthesized nerve agent sarin and diisopropylfluorophosphate,” which was “used by Western states for producing chemical weapons during World War II.”

SOURCE LINK

There's plenty of information regarding the terrorists having, and even allegedly using, CWs. Notice Obama and the WH haven't said a peep about the Aleppo attack. Why is that?

Originally Posted by scotty

I am also looking at this from a different point of view. It is being said that Kerry's remark was an "off the wall" comment that Russia picked up and ran with it. I think Obama gave Kerry a "Gibsmack" yesterday or this morning. The president's secretary of state completely undermined him with one comment. Kerry could come out of this looking better than his boss.

That could be. Or, as reports state, Putin was promoting this during the G20 summit last week; Obama could have given Kerry the green light to float the idea using a planted question and under the guise of it being a flub. That way, if the idea is rejected, Obama isn't embarrassed by it; but if it's accepted, he can later say it was all planned.

Originally Posted by scotty

But here is what you have to look forward to. And this will obviously play into your opinion. Assad is moving a portion of his CW's as we speak. Then after the rest are turned over he can use them at will and blame it on the terrorist because, after all, his were all taken.

Equally concerning is how much of this stuff will "dissappear" before, during, and after it is secured.

How do you know he's moving them? These statements are as bad as the WH's....it's all conjecture. You have no proof Assad will do this. Look, Assad was hailed as a reformer by the same morons demanding he now be bombed into oblivion. Kerry wined and dined with him, Pelosi went over and talked with him...all had glowing reviews - UNTIL Obama gave the red line comment.

It's documented that Assad controls the CWs very tightly, that only he and a couple others control them. So since we're throwing out scenarios and assumptions, here's one for you: let's say the US strikes and helps the terrorists overthrow Assad. Now you have AQ with possession of a large cache of CWs. BRILLIANT! We just helped our enemy gain a deadly weapon, which they will use against us!

Originally Posted by scotty

Another side of this is now the "true" rebels will have no faith in the international community to protect them, (since CW's are not neccesary to kill civilians) even now Assad is shelling a Damascus neighborhood when the above article was released. So who are the people going to turn to? You guess it, the terrorist. Who still may win this war, or maybe not, who knows. Both sides hate us and Israel so maybe we just sit back and hope they kill each other off. Just wonder how many generations of Syrians it will take to finally forgive all of us for turning a blind eye while they are systematically murdered.

Do you believe the US govt would sit around and allow terrorists to strike? No, it would annihilate them. What's Assad supposed to do, sit around and play thumbs while the terrorists strike and try to overthrow the govt? Of course Assad is fighting back. Unfortunately, the terrorists hide in the neighborhoods, among the Syrian civilians.

And this may sound crass, but it's really not our issue to worry about what the Syrians think of us. It's their civil war, not ours.

[scotty]

Originally Posted by n david

It's known that the terrorists have CWs, in fact, the WH dossier on its "evidence" against Assad states the following:




Obviously the WH knows they have CWs. Stating that they haven't used CWs is not the same as stating they don't possess them.

This is a dangerous assumption. I believe the same mentality is used on this forum to argue against tongues being a sign of the infilling, after all, the bible doesn't specifically state such, right? Either way, it is your interpretation of the dossier, truth is, we don't know.

Originally Posted by n david

There's plenty of information regarding the terrorists having, and even allegedly using, CWs. Notice Obama and the WH haven't said a peep about the Aleppo attack. Why is that?

Allegedly. Keyword.

Originally Posted by n david

That could be. Or, as reports state, Putin was promoting this during the G20 summit last week; Obama could have given Kerry the green light to float the idea using a planted question and under the guise of it being a flub. That way, if the idea is rejected, Obama isn't embarrassed by it; but if it's accepted, he can later say it was all planned.

He would be smart to do so, just afraid the press has already run with the story that it was an off the wall comment.

Originally Posted by n david

How do you know he's moving them? These statements are as bad as the WH's....it's all conjecture. You have no proof Assad will do this. Look, Assad was hailed as a reformer by the same morons demanding he now be bombed into oblivion. Kerry wined and dined with him, Pelosi went over and talked with him...all had glowing reviews - UNTIL Obama gave the red line comment.

Yes, it's all conjecture. Thats why I presented it as a "scenerio". Good point. While I do not side with the terrorist either, I definately am not partaking in your love fest for Assad. I don't care what he has been hailed for by who. Everyone has known and still knows that Assad, for years, has been the middle man between Iran and Hezbolah. Hezbolah is fighting along side government troops. Assad is a supporter of terrorism. Period.

Originally Posted by n david

It's documented that Assad controls the CWs very tightly, that only he and a couple others control them. So since we're throwing out scenarios and assumptions, here's one for you: let's say the US strikes and helps the terrorists overthrow Assad. Now you have AQ with possession of a large cache of CWs. BRILLIANT! We just helped our enemy gain a deadly weapon, which they will use against us!

Ridiculous, I'll tell you why, I have already stated in these discussions that there is no answer that is going to end well. I am not sure U.S. strikes are even the answer, but I am still amused by the love fest for Assad.

Originally Posted by n david

Do you believe the US govt would sit around and allow terrorists to strike? No, it would annihilate them. What's Assad supposed to do, sit around and play thumbs while the terrorists strike and try to overthrow the govt? Of course Assad is fighting back. Unfortunately, the terrorists hide in the neighborhoods, among the Syrian civilians.

And this may sound crass, but it's really not our issue to worry about what the Syrians think of us. It's their civil war, not ours.

I don't know what Assad needs to do. But let us not forget, the terrorist did not show up on the scene until after the citizens wanted change and Assad responded with military force. The original rebels are not terrorist, they are a people tired of an oppresive dictatorship. The terrorist joined after the fact. They filled a void that the international community failed to fill. Research how the terrorist have always worked. Terrorist build schools, infrastructure, water supply, food sources, homes, finances. They will take care of whole countries, this is how they garner support. These terrorist will be seen by the citizens of Syria as the ones who are giving their lives to protect them from Assad and free them from his dictatorship and then they will help rebuild their communities. It is the history of several countries in the Middle East and it is repeating itself in Syria. Unfortunately it is too late for us to do anything now but wait to see what is left when the smoke clears.

[n david]

Originally Posted by scotty

I definately am not partaking in your love fest for Assad. I don't care what he has been hailed for by who. Everyone has known and still knows that Assad, for years, has been the middle man between Iran and Hezbolah. Hezbolah is fighting along side government troops. Assad is a
supporter of terrorism. Period.

Originally Posted by scotty

I am still amused by the love fest for Assad.

I don't have a love fest for Assad. I know Assad is close to Hezbollah and Iran; that he supports terror against Israel. You may be confusing my demand the US does a little more than just say - Assad has CWs therefore he used CWs. If they're going to bomb Syria and kill civilians, we need a lot more proof than what the WH is giving out. AND we need to reassess our assistance to these groups like Free Syrian Army and others who are connected to terrorist attacks in Syria.

There are just too many questions about what our interests are there, too little evidence against Assad, and too little questions about the terrorists and their own cache of CWs - which the US, Turkey, Russia, Germany, and UN know they have.

[Aquila]

Has anyone other than me noted that none of this makes any sense?

It wouldn't make sense for Assad to do this. There is no hard evidence that al-Queda has done this, of course it would be an excellent ploy to drag the world into the conflict. CIA seems to offering "intelligence" that points to Assad's regime. But it makes no sense.

Another thing makes no sense... Obama was against the Iraq War. He also had reservations about continued operations in Afghanistan. Obama was against acting without Congress and was against acting unilaterally without the solid support of the UN and our allies. Anyone notice it's like we woke up and Obama has become... "OBushma"?

Something serious has changed about this man's perspective on not only military involvement... but even going about things unilaterally. It's like he's been taken over by the Body Snatchers.

What has happened to him to radically change his ideology??? Going all the way back to his early years... he'd not have supported something like this philosophically.

My theory... the powers that be are very wealthy, very secretive, and very powerful. They want the Middle East. But these regimes are in their way. And they have been strongly leaning on every President since Clinton to advocate a doctrine of "regime change" in the Middle East. I don't know why they want the Middle East. Maybe it's because it destabilizes their business operations. Maybe it's because they want to open up more markets involving oil contracts. Maybe they see it as a national security issue for the nations they are headquartered in. Maybe it's more Satanic and they want the Temple Mount. I don't know. But it's like someone allows our Presidents to be President until some strange "atrocity" takes place and then they pull the string and the President falls into a trance and is willing to unilaterally march us off to war.

I'm not big on theories involving the NWO or the Illuminati. But, it sure seems like there is someone, or a group of "someones", that begins to call the shots after a suspicious tragedy... complete with alleged "intelligence" that no one can readily evaluate until after the fact.

Am I the only one who finds this strange???

[n david]

There is a House Hearing this morning with Kerry, Hagel and Dempsey. Kerry isn't there now, but earlier in the hearing he took credit for what his own aides were calling a rhetorical comment and not meant to be taken seriously.

Tuesday morning -- after the Russians had co-opted the idea and formally presented it to the Syrian government -- Kerry was claiming full credit for the plan during testimony before the House Armed Services Committee.

"Yesterday, we challenged the regime to turn (its chemical weapons) over to the secure control of the international community so that they can be destroyed," Kerry said.

He added, "Nothing focuses the mind like the prospect of a hanging," claiming the "credible threat" of military action is what brought the Assad regime to its knees.

SOURCE LINK

[n david]

SOURCE LINK

Two Europeans who were abducted and held hostage for several months in Syria claim they overheard an exchange between their captors which proves that rebels were behind the recent chemical attack.

In a number of interviews to European news outlets, the former hostages - Belgian teacher Pierre Piccinin and Italian journalist Domenico Quiric - said they overheard an English-language Skype conversation between their captors and other men which suggested it was rebel forces, not the government, that used chemical weapons on Syria’s civilian population in an August 21 attack near Damascus.

“It is a moral duty to say this. The government of Bashar al-Assad did not use sarin gas or other types of gas in the outskirts of Damascus,” Piccinin said during an interview with Belgium's RTL radio station.

Piccinin stressed that while being held captive, he and fellow prisoner Quirico were secluded from the outside world and had no idea that chemical weapons were deployed. But the conversation which both men overheard suggested that the use of the weapons was a strategic move by the opposition, aimed at getting the West to intervene.

"In this conversation, they said that the gas attack on two neighborhoods of Damascus was launched by the rebels as a provocation to lead the West to intervene militarily,” Quirico told Italy’s La Stampa. "We were unaware of everything that was going on during our detention in Syria, and therefore also with the gas attack in Damascus."

While stating that the rebels most likely exaggerated the accident’s death toll, the Italian journalist stressed that he could not vouch whether “the conversation was based on real facts." However, he said that one of the three people in the alleged conversation identified himself as a Free Syrian Army general, La Stampa reported.

Based on what both men have learned, Peccinin told RTL that it would be “insane and suicidal for the West to support these people.”

“It pains me to say it because I've been a fierce supporter of the Free Syrian Army in its rightful fight for democracy since 2012," Piccinin added.

Quirico seems to agree with Peccini’s assessment.

“I am extremely surprised that the United States could think about intervening, knowing very well how the Syrian revolution has become international jihadism – in other words Al-Qaeda," Quirico said, as quoted by Italy’s Quotidiano Nazionale.

The 62-year-old La Stampa journalist believes that radical Islamic groups operating in Syria to topple Assad “want to create a caliphate and extend it to the entire Middle East and North Africa.”

In a number of news appearances, both Quirico and Piccinin shared stories of how they were subjected to two mock executions, beaten, and starved during their five-month captivity.

"These have been very tough months. We were beaten on a daily basis, we suffered two mock executions," Quirico told reporters upon his arrival in Rome, AFP reported.

"There was sometimes real violence...humiliation, bullying, mock executions...Domenico faced two mock executions, with a revolver," Piccinin told RTL.

Both men were kidnapped in Syria last April by a group of armed men in pickup trucks who were believed to be from Free Syrian Army.

According to Piccinin, the captors soon transferred them over to the Abu Ammar brigade, a rebel group "more bandit than Islamist."

"We were moved around a lot...it was not always the same group that held us, there were very violent groups, very anti-West and some anti-Christian," Piccinin said.

Both men tried to escape twice but their attempts were unsuccessful, prompting the rebel group to punish them for their actions.

The Italian government announced on Sunday that both men had been freed after Rome intensified negotiations with the rebels for the release of the prisoners ahead of an anticipated US strike on Syria.

Another 13 journalists are still believed to be missing in Syria, according to Reporters Without Borders.

Glad we're giving a bunch of weapons and logistics support to these groups...