Damascus is waxed feeble, she turneth herself to flee, and trembling hath seized on her; anguish and pangs have taken hold of her, as of a woman in travail. (Jeremiah 49:24)
According to unnamed military sources Israel believes the United States will respond militarily to the chemical weapons attacks of the Bashar Assad regime in Syria, YNet news reported on Saturday. After it had been proven that Syria had, in fact, used chemical warfare against its own people, the sources claimed with confidence that, “the US will act even in the event that the UN Security Council does not take a decision to that effect,” citing estimations by Israeli officials.
The Syria issue was reportedly discussed by US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey and Chief of the IDF General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz on Friday, according to The Times of Israel.
The assessment in Jerusalem is that “Washington is seriously considering a limited yet effective attack that will make it clear to the regime in Damascus that the international community will not tolerate the use of weapons of mass destruction against Syrian civilians or any other elements,” the report said. Israel’s Channel 2 news said the likelihood was of a limited “punitive attack,” to deter the regime from further chemical weapons use.
However, in an attempt to dissuade the American from responding, Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi threatened late Saturday that “a mass of flames will ignite the Middle East.” He also said, “The American pressure will not help, it is a waste of time, and Syria will not withdraw from its fight against terror.” An attack on Syria, he said, “will not be a picnic.”
Israel has also begun to prepare itself for a retaliation on its soil in response to a US attack on Syria. A significant number of Syria’s reported 100,000 missiles have the ability to reach Israel, according to the Times.
Also on Saturday, US President Barack Obama discussed options for responding to Damascus with his security chiefs. While Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Friday that no decision on action had been taken, many believe Obama has tapped him for the preparation of the Syrian response attack. Dempsey is set to travel to Jordan in the next few days, along with the head of the US central command, General Lloyd Austin, to coordinate possible solutions to the Syrian crisis with chiefs of staff from Turkey, Britain, France, Qatar, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Italy and Canada. US TV reports Saturday said the administration was “leaning very heavily” toward an attack.
According to the Jerusalem Post, the United States has begun preparing for an attack on Syria over the weekend with the movement of naval ships in the region closer to Damascus. Hagel said the US Navy moved battleships stationed in the Mediterranean closer to Israel’s coast to close their ranges to Syria after Obama requested “military options” in response to Wednesday’s chemical attack.The US Navy will expand its presence in the Mediterranean with a fourth cruise missile armed warship, a defense official said on Friday, the Post reported. The USS Mahan had finished its deployment and was due to head back to its home base in Norfolk, Virginia, but the commander of the US Sixth Fleet has decided to keep the ship in the region, the defense official said.
There is still some doubt that the Americans would move against Syria without international support, something they are unlikely to receive. “If the US goes in and attacks another country without a UN mandate and without clear evidence that can be presented, then there are questions in terms of whether international law supports it,” Obama told CNN on Friday morning.
