The question of how far the United States will go in its involvement in Syria was on the table this week as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with President Obama at the White House in order to ensure that the U.S. takes more of an active role in trying to push Syrian President Bashar [...]
Report: Russia Sends Anti-Ship Missiles to Syria
May 17, 2013 | Posted by
Russia has sent sophisticated anti-ship missiles to Syria, according to a media report. The New York Times quotes unnamed U.S. officials as saying the missiles could be used to counter any potential future foreign military intervention in Syria. Without confirming details, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russian supplies did not break any international rules. [...]
Published Video Shows Islamist Rebels Executing 11 Syrian Soldiers
May 16, 2013 | Posted by
A video published on Thursday showed fighters of the al Qaida-linked Nusra Front in Syria executing 11 men whom they accused of taking part in massacres by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. The film is believed to be from eastern Deir al-Zor province and dates from some time in 2012, according to the Syrian Observatory for [...]
Gates Defends Obama Administration on Benghazi, Calls Republicans ‘Cartoonish’
May 13, 2013 | Posted by
Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates blasted Republicans who have been critical of the Obama administration’s response to the attack on the American facility in Benghazi last year, saying they are exhibiting a “cartoonish” knowledge of the American military. Gates, a Republican who served in both the Bush and Obama administrations, appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” [...]
Israel Says Russia is Selling Advanced Missile Systems to Syria
May 9, 2013 | Posted by
Even as Russia pledged to work with the U.S. to bring an end to the Syrian civil war, it was in the process of selling advanced ground-to-air missile systems to Syria that would make U.S. and Israeli intervention far more difficult , according the Wall Street Journal. The news of the imminent sale came from [...]
Israel Launches Airstrike in Syria to Stop Missile Shipment to Hezbollah
May 4, 2013 | Posted by
The international community is reacting today to news that Israel conducted an airstrike in Syria, reportedly to stop a shipment of missiles bound for Lebanon’s Hezbollah Shiite militia, a longtime enemy of Israel. The Israeli move comes as American officials are pondering what to do about reports that Syria has used chemical weapons against Syrian citizens [...]
Obama Cautious to Act on Syria Chemical Weapons Report
April 27, 2013 | Posted by
Although U.S. intelligence has assessed “with varying degrees of confidence” that the Syrian government had used the chemical agent sarin against its citizens, President Obama is proceeding cautiously in committing action against Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad. Obama’s circumspection stems from the lesson learned from the erroneous reports more than a decade ago that indicated that Iraq possessed [...]
Evidence of Chemical Warfare in Syria Is Limited
April 26, 2013 | Posted by
The U.S. has said that Syria has probably used chemical weapons against rebel forces on a “small scale,” but emphasized that intelligence services were still not 100 percent sure. U.S. intelligence agencies have investigated reports from Syrian opposition groups that President Bashar al-Assad’s forces used sarin gas on at least two occasions during the two-year-old [...]
John Kerry: Netanyahu Can’t Confirm Syria Chemical Weapons Use
April 24, 2013 | Posted by
US Secretary of State John Kerry said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not been able to confirm to him on Tuesday that the Syrian regime had used chemical weapons against rebels.
US Approves Additional $123M Aid to Syria
April 21, 2013 | Posted by
The United States has approved providing Syrian rebels with $123m in new nonlethal aid that may include body armour and other types of supplies that have not been part of the assistance package in the past. The additional money will double the nonlethal assistance to the Syrian opposition as well as increase humanitarian aid. “This [...]
