Syria

[vector7]

Turkey: NATO should view Syria as attacking it

By SELCAN HACAOGLU

The Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey said Monday it would push NATO to consider Syria's downing of a Turkish jet as an attack on the whole military alliance.

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The announcement came on the eve of a meeting by NATO's governing body to discuss the incident. Despite deep frustration among many NATO countries over the conflict in Syria, where the opposition says President Bashar Assad's crackdown on an increasingly armed popular uprising has killed 14,000 people, it's highly unlikely the military alliance will take armed action against the Arab state.

The unarmed RF-4E reconnaissance jet was shot down a mile (1.6 kilometers) inside international airspace on Friday, and two Turkish pilots are still missing, the Turkish government says.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc also said for the first time that Syrian forces had opened ground fire on a CASA search and rescue plane shortly after the downing, but did not say if that plane was hit.

Arinc said Turkey retained its right to "retaliate" against what he called a "hostile act," but he added, "We have no intention of going at war with anyone."

Turkey will push NATO to consider the armed attack under Article 5 in a key alliance treaty, Arinc said. Article 5 states that an attack against one NATO member shall be considered an attack against all members.

The North Atlantic Council — which includes ambassadors of the 28 NATO countries — works by consensus and all members must approve any action. The meeting Tuesday comes after Turkey requested it under Article 4 of the treaty, which allows a NATO ally to request such a consultation if it feels its territorial integrity or security has been threatened.

Asked if Turkey will insist on the activation of Article 5 of NATO, Arinc said, "No doubt, Turkey has made necessary applications regarding Article 4 and Article 5."

The prospect of Western military intervention in Syria remains remote, despite all the tough talk.

Such action is unlikely to get the support of either the U.N. Security Council or the Arab League, and outside intervention without the blessing of both of those bodies is all but unthinkable. And there is little appetite among the NATO countries — of which the U.S. is the largest — for another war in the Middle East.

Arinc further strongly denied Syrian claims that the downed plane was shot by anti-aircraft fire while flying low inside Syrian airspace.

The deputy premier admitted the jet mistakenly strayed into Syrian airspace when it was flying at an altitude of 200 feet and at a speed of 300 knots, but said it left the Syrian airspace after warning from Turkish radar operators and that it received no warning from Syrian forces during its five-minute flight inside Syrian territory.

Arinc reiterated Turkey's insistence that the plane was not spying on Syria but just testing Turkey's radar capabilities.

"There is no doubt that Syrians deliberately targeted our plane in international airspace," Arinc said, accusing Syria of acting in a "cold-blooded" manner.

[American Patriot]

Man... this is going to go big or go bigger

If NATO says "umm no" then NATO is going to come apart (The Russians want that!)

If NATO says "Ok, let's go" then it's going to be a pissy situation quick.

[vector7]

U.N. Envoy calls for Iran involvement in Syria crisis

Published June 22, 2012
Associated Press

GENEVA – U.N. envoy Kofi Annan said Friday that Iran should be involved in efforts to end the escalating violence that has claimed thousands of lives and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes.

Annan, the joint U.N.-Arab League envoy, told reporters that he is working to convene a so-called 'contact group' meeting on Syria in Geneva on June 30. The United States has vehemently opposed the involvement of Iran demanded by Russia. Annan said the composition of the meeting is one of the sticking points that may not be resolved until next week.

"I have made it quite clear that I believe Iran should be part of the solution," the former U.N. secretary-general told reporters in Geneva, flanked by Maj. Gen. Robert Mood, the head of the struggling U.N. observer mission in Syria.

Annan said it was "time for countries of influence to raise the level of pressure on the parties on the ground." However, he had no specific proposals for changing his six-point peace plan, which he said Syria had not yet implemented but still might support in the future.

"The longer we wait, the darker Syria's future becomes," Annan said.

Mood praised the work of his 300 U.N. monitors, whose mandate ends next month. He conceded, however, that they are now largely confined to bureaucratic tasks and calling Syrians by phone because of the insecurity and dangers on the ground.

"They are keen to resume their work. Their commitment to the Syrian people has not faltered," he emphasized. "Whether more observers or arming observers would be relevant to the situation on the ground, I'm far from convinced that that would help the situation on the ground."

The increasing militarization of both sides in the conflict has Syria lurching toward civil war. The failure of Annan's internationally brokered peace plan has made it more difficult for outside observers, humanitarian workers and supplies to get in, or reliable information to filter out.

Activists say more than 14,000 people have been killed since the uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime began in March last year. U.N. officials said Friday that an agreement by Syria to allow in aid workers and supplies to four of the hardest-hit provinces has been delayed by the steady violence.

So far, only reconnaissance missions to prepare for the aid workers and supplies have been conducted, U.N. humanitarian officials said.

In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow's arms supplies to Syria fully conform to international law. Lavrov said he would tell U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at their meeting set for next week that Russia sees no need to justify its action.

Clinton issued a harsh reprimand to Russia last week, saying that Moscow "dramatically" escalated the crisis in Syria by sending attack helicopters there. The State Department acknowledged later that the helicopters were actually refurbished ones already owned by the Syrian regime.

Russia has continued to provide Syria's government with weapons despite its violent crackdown on a popular uprising that began in March 2011.

[vector7]

Companion Post: Netanyahu: Israel, Russia agree on Iran

US and Israel to hold largest ever joint military exercise

June 25, 2012
[B]



Israel and the US are set to hold their largest ever joint military exercise in October, featuring thousands of soldiers and advanced anti-missile defense systems, and simulating simultaneous fire from Iran and Syria.

News of the drill comes amid ongoing violence in Syria, and with Israel and the US closely discussing the means to thwart Iran’s nuclear drive. The commander of the 3rd Air Force, Lt.-Gen.Craig A. Franklin, on a recent visit to Israel, established a planning committee with representatives of the IDF to coordinate the details of the exercise, the Maariv Hebrew daily reported Monday. Some 3,000 US soldiers are to participate, alongside thousands of Israeli troops.

The drill will simulate missiles being fired at Israel from Iran and Syria simultaneously, with potentially tens, if not hundreds, of rockets mid-air at the same time. Israel will test its upgraded Arrow 2 defense system, while the US will deploy the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System and PAC-3 Patriot air defense platforms.

According to Maariv, some military analysts have nicknamed the exercise a “dress rehearsal” for a potential military conflict, noting that it will send a clear message to Iran at a time during which the impact of international sanctions, or lack thereof, will be clearer.

Read More...

[American Patriot]

testing, testing... is this thing on?

lol

[Ryan Ruck]

About to head to bed and just saw on FNC that Turkey is saying Syria has shot down a second jet.

Did a quick search and all I could find were reports of Syria only firing on a second jet, not actually shooting it down.

Maybe info will be more available in the morning...

[American Patriot]

I just read several articles (headings mostly and a 1st paragraph run) and Turkey is about to take military action against Russ... er.. Iran... er I mean Syria.

They are threatening it strongly.

This is not going to end well, as we've been saying all along.

[American Patriot]

26 June 2012 Last updated at 09:58 ET Turkey talks tough over Syria

By Jonathan Head BBC News, Istanbul Our friendship is powerful, but so is our anger, Mr Erdogan told lawmakers
Syria Conflict

• Rebel tactics evolve
• Turkey seeks diplomacy not war
• UN mission at crossroads
• Russia stands by Assad

Turkey's prime minister has told parliament that Syria is a "clear threat" to both its own people and to Turkey, days after a Turkish fighter jet was downed. But to what extent will Ankara's approach to its neighbour really change?


In today's Turkey the final word always belongs to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.



He stayed uncharacteristically silent in the days following the incident, but has now delivered a speech to his party in parliament, which will probably shape Turkish policy towards Syria from now on.


Mr Erdogan aimed at several targets in his speech.



The first was to win as much international support as possible for the official Turkish account of the incident.



He restated that view: that the F-4 Phantom was unarmed, clearly identifiable, and, after briefly entering Syrian air space, was back in international air space when it was shot down without warning.



Nobody can use such a brief incursion as justification for shooting down a plane, he said.



Turkey has mustered all the data it has from the plane's flight, and used it to convince its allies of its case.



'New phase'

Britain and the United States have expressed support for the Turkish position, and, after an extraordinary meeting on the incident in Brussels, so has Nato.




The search continues for the F-4 plane shot down on Friday and its crew of two
Syria has continued to contest the Turkish account, insisting that the aircraft was flying low and fast, close to the Syrian coast, when they fired at it.



A Syrian foreign ministry official said the plane was hit by land-based anti-aircraft guns with a range of only one to two kilometres, not by a missile, to back its assertion that it was well within Syrian air space.


Mr Erdogan also needed to look strong to his own people, given the fact that Turkey has no way of making good its threat to "punish" Syria.



Military retaliation is too risky. It has not been mentioned at all by Turkey, and has been dismissed as inappropriate by its allies.


Instead the prime minister resorted to some tough-sounding, feel-good rhetoric. No-one should be fooled by our cool-headed and reasonable response to this crisis, he said.



Our friendship is powerful, but so is our anger.



He described the government of Bashar al-Assad as a clear threat now not just to the Syrian people but also to Turkey, and warned that relations have entered a new phase.



'Harsh words' Turkish account

• Friday 22 June, early morning: F-4 leaves Erhac Nato airbase
• Flies over Hatay province (Turkey)
• 11:42 GMT: mistakenly enters Syrian airspace near Latakia at 200ft (61m) at 300 knots
• 11:47: leaves after Turkish radar operator warning - no Syrian warning
• 11:56: radio contact lost: hit 13 nautical miles from Syrian coast at 7,400ft by heat-seeking guided laser missile
• 11:58 crashes into the sea

From now on, he warned, any Syrian forces approaching the border would be treated as hostile and may be targeted by the Turkish military.


Mr Erdogan has clearly been stung by the small but increasing number of critics here of his foreign policy, and he fired back at them with a sweeping justification for his government's approach to the region.



Referring back to 1,000 years of Ottoman history, he said Turkey's security was tied up with that of the wider region.



We have no territorial ambitions in neighbouring countries, he said, but we will always raise our voice on behalf of brothers whose blood is being shed - we will be a torment for those who hurt the innocent. No-one should fear a stronger Turkey that is re-embracing its historic friends.


There were particularly harsh words for those Turkish writers who have questioned what the F4 jet was doing so close to the sensitive Syrian border.
Syrian account

• 11:40 GMT Friday: F-4 flew at 100m (330 ft) altitude, 1-2km (0.6m-1.2m) from Syrian coast
• Surprise meant no time to give warning
• Anti-aircraft gun shot it down in Syrian waters with fire of maximum range of 2.5km
• Radar-guided missile not deployed
• Tail wreckage shows it was hit by anti-aircraft fire

No-one, he said, could take the luxury of making statements that would damage the Turkish government or state at this time - the Turkish people would punish them.



He repeated the official explanation that the plane was testing Turkish radar systems and carrying out routine surveillance of the eastern Mediterranean, which he said was a sovereign right.


That last attack will not go down well with those who already charge Mr Erdogan of intolerance of any criticism. And questions surrounding the precise mission of the downed F-4 will not go away.


Cautious

There will also be some doubts over how much Turkish policy will really change towards Syria.


Mr Erdogan has used dramatic language to condemn President Assad many times in the past, but Turkish policy has remained cautious. It hosts the Syrian National Council, and some commanders of the Free Syrian Army.



But it has until now blocked or restricted arms supplies to Syrian insurgents over its border, and banned attacks on Syrian forces from Turkish territory.


It is possible Turkey will now give greater backing to the armed opposition.



Already the prime minister's foreign policy adviser has stated that the rules of engagement for Turkish troops towards their Syrian counterparts have been changed.


More on This Story

Syria Conflict

Features and analysis

• Rebel tactics evolve
  
  The BBC's Ian Pannell reports on the growing effectiveness of the Syrian rebels, after spending two weeks with some of the fighters in Idlib province.
  

  ---

• Turkey seeks diplomacy not war
• UN mission at crossroads
• Russia stands by Assad
• An intractable conflict?
• Qubair: Sectarian strife grows
• Satellite evidence
• Counting the victims
• Can Syria avoid civil war?
• Iran and Syria
• Guide: Syria Crisis
• Slow-motion tragedy
• Who are the shabiha?
• Houla massacre
• Web of power
• Timeline of massacres
• Q&A: Syria sanctions

[American Patriot]

Turkey vows to retaliate 'with determination' after jet shooting

Nato condemned Syria's downing of a Turkish jet as "unnacceptable" and expressed "strong support and solidarity" with Turkey after emergency consultations Tuesday

• AFP
• Published: 14:05 June 26, 2012

• Image Credit: AP
• Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, arrives for a cabinet meeting in his office in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, June 25, 2012

Ankara: Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday his government would retaliate "with determination" after its plane was downed by Syria in international airspace.
"Turkey will use its rights born out of international law with determination and take necessary steps by determining the time, place and method by itself in the face of this unfairness," Erdogan told the parliament.
Nato
Brussels: Nato condemned Syria's downing of a Turkish jet as "unnacceptable" and expressed "strong support and solidarity" with Turkey after emergency consultations Tuesday.
Article continues below

"We consider this act to be unacceptable and condemn it in the strongest terms," said Nato chief Anders Fogh rasmussen. "Allies have expressed their strong support and solidarity with Turkey ... We will remain seized."

[American Patriot]

Turkey Threatens Force if Syrian Troops Near Border
Burhan Ozbilici/Associated Press

By SEBNEM ARSU, ALAN COWELL and PAUL GEITNER
Published: June 26, 2012

ISTANBUL — Buoyed by support from his country’s NATO allies, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Syrian forces on Tuesday to stay clear of their troubled border or face a Turkish military response to any perceived threat, following the disputed downing of a Turkish warplane.
Related

Assad Supporters Suspected in New Beirut Incidents (June 27, 2012)
Latest Syrian Defectors Are From Higher Ranks (June 26, 2012)
Turkish Border Is Crucial Link in Syrian Conflict (June 26, 2012)
Just Passing Through, Putin Consults With Israeli Leaders on Syria and Iran (June 26, 2012)

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NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, of Denmark, at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday. He said NATO condemned Syria's downing of a Turkish military plane.

The Turkish leader’s bellicose tone came as ambassadors from the NATO alliance, seeking to avoid a wider conflict, held emergency talks in Brussels at Turkey’s behest. After the meeting, the NATO secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said the alliance considered Syria’s actions in shooting down a Turkish warplane last Friday “unacceptable.”

In a unanimous statement, the NATO allies called the episode “another example of the Syrian authorities’ disregard for international norms, peace and security, and human life.” Turkey is a member of the alliance.

“I would certainly expect that such an incident won’t happen again,” Mr. Rasmussen said at a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels. He added that the alliance would closely follow developments and “if necessary, consult and discuss what else could be done.”

In Ankara, Mr. Erdogan said Turkey had revised its military rules of engagement toward Syria.

“Every military element that approaches the Turkish border from Syria in a manner that constitutes a security risk or danger would be considered as a threat and would be treated as a military target,” he said in a speech to lawmakers attended by Arab diplomats.

“From here, we warn the Syrian regime not to make any mistakes, not to test Turkey’s decisiveness and wisdom,” Mr. Erdogan said.

“If there is anyone who could not understand this up until today, we would and will prove in the most clear and determined way that Turkey cannot be challenged,” he said.

While Syria maintains that the plane was brought down well within its airspace, Turkey says the two-seat F-4 fighter plane was attacked over international waters after straying briefly into Syrian space.

“Our plane was targeted not by mistake but deliberately, entirely in an act of hostility,” Mr. Erdogan said. “At a time, place and method defined by itself, Turkey will make use of its rights that derive from international law and firmly take necessary steps against this injustice.” He did not elaborate on what those steps might be.

Turkey and Syria share strong historical and cultural ties, and were both ruled by the Ottoman Empire for centuries, until the empire collapsed and the modern Turkish Republic was founded almost 90 years ago. Before the Syrian revolt broke out in 2011, Mr. Edrogan had pursued a strong regional friendship with President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, but there was no trace of that warmth in Mr. Erdogan’s address on Tuesday.

Since then, the 550-mile border has become a critical fault line and potential flash point, used by an increasingly sophisticated network of activists in southern Turkey smuggling crucial supplies into Syria including weapons, communications gear, field hospitals and even salaries for soldiers who defect.

At the same, it has offered escape routes to tens of thousands of fugitive Syrian civilians and to increasingly high-ranking military defectors, the most recent on Sunday.

Turkey’s role in support of the rebels, thus, has cast it as a frontline in the regional struggle for Syria’s future.

“We will continue to support the struggle of our Syrian brothers at all costs,” Mr. Erdogan said on Tuesday said, referring to the opponents of Mr. Assad. “We will continue to act in solidarity with our brothers until the Syrian people are freed of this cruel dictator,” he said.

The Turkish foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, has told state-owned TRT television that the aircraft was struck by antiaircraft fire outside of Syrian airspace. “Our plane was hit in international airspace, 13 nautical miles out of Syria, when Syrian territorial space is 12 miles,” he said.

But the Syrian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the airplane was brought down by an antiaircraft weapon with a range of less than two miles.

The two crewmen are still missing.

Western defense analysts said the episode had shown that, unlike the example of Libya last year, when NATO planes enforced a no-fly zone as rebels pressed for the ouster of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the Syrian military could offer much stiffer resistance.

“After its experience in Libya, NATO certainly does not want to get into another air war with the Syrians, who are in much better shape than the Libyans were to conduct one,” said Michael Corgan, a specialist in international security issues at Boston University.

In calling for the meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, Turkey said it was invoking Article 4 of the NATO treaty, which provides for consultations by the allies when one of them is attacked or threatened, rather than the much stronger Article 5, in which an attack on one member is considered an attack on all NATO countries.

The episode risks drawing in Russia, Syria’s principal weapons supplier and international champion, which has signaled concern about the NATO meeting. SANA, Syria’s state news agency, quoted the Russian deputy foreign minister, Alexander Grushko, as saying that he hopes NATO will not take measures on Tuesday “that would aggravate situation in Syria” or prevent a political settlement there.

Russia, with Chinese support, has shielded President Bashar al-Assad against the efforts of Western and some Arab nations to press for a settlement that would remove the Syrian leader from office as part of a transition.

The nature of the weapons system that brought down the Turkish plane has not been clearly established.

Less than two weeks ago, by apparent coincidence, Russia’s main arms exporter said it was supplying Syria with defensive missile systems that could bring down airplanes or sink ships.

“I would like to say these mechanisms are really a good means of defense, a reliable defense against attacks from the air or sea,” Anatoly P. Isaykin, the general director of the company, Rosoboronexport, said Friday in an interview. “This is not a threat, but whoever is planning an attack should think about this.”

On Monday, Jihad Makdissi, the Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman, claimed that the wreckage of the downed Turkish jet “shows holes in the tail-end of the plane which confirm that it was shot down by a ground-based machine gun, not missiles.”

“Had the aircraft been over territorial waters, we would have used missiles, not a land-based antiaircraft machine gun with a maximum range of 2.5 kilometers,” he said. “All of this confirms the falsity of the allegations that the aircraft was shot down outside Syrian territorial waters.”

The source of the spokesman’s version was not immediately clear. It contradicted accounts offered by Turkey, which has said the wreckage of the plane is lying in deep water far offshore and has yet to be recovered. Indeed, on Monday, Turkey accused Syria of firing on a reconnaissance plane that was searching for the wreckage.

In an unusually detailed account on the SANA Web site, Mr. Makdissi claimed that coastal antiaircraft artillery stationed on Syrian beaches opened fire on the Turkish jet as it flew toward the Syrian coast at a speed of some 500 miles an hour. The airplane was flying very low over the Mediterranean Sea, Mr. Makdissi said, and dipped below the reach of radar, “only to appear suddenly at an altitude of 100 meters, one to two kilometers from the beach and Syrian land, and became suddenly visible to the naked eye.”

After it was hit, the plane veered to the left and crashed, he said.

Sebnem Arsu reported from Istanbul, Alan Cowell from London and Paul Geitner from Brussels.

[American Patriot]

A blog they are doing live updates on this situation:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/midd...o-meeting-live

I'm not posting that whole thing here.

[vector7]

Turkey sends military convoy to Syrian border

ISTANBUL


Handout photo by Turkish Armed Forces

Turkey has deployed a large number of military vehicles to the Syrian border, daily Milliyet reported.

The shipment included 15 armored tanks, in addition to long-distance guns and other military vehicles. The convoy was heavily guarded as it moved toward the border in the event of an attack by outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members.

Military units reportedly increased security measures on the border following recent events that have strained bilateral relations.

Turkey pulls military equipment to the Syrian border

26 June 2012, 18:59 (GMT+05:00)
Azerbaijan, Baku, 26 June / Trend corr. R. Hafizoglu /

Following a statement by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the regime of Bashar al-Assad is a threat to the security of Turkey, on the border with Syria had massed a large amount of Turkish military equipment, "Zaman" newspaper reported.

Earlier today Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said taht regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad poses a threat to Turkey and its citizens.

"After Syria shot down our Turkish military aircraft in international airspace, we will take more serious steps in the framework of international legal standards," Erdogan said.

The Turkish reconnaissance aircraft RF-4E which took off on Friday from an Erhach airbase in Malatya province in south-eastern Turkey, disappeared from the radar screens at about noon local time in the Mediterranean Sea to the south-east of the province of Hatay bordering on Syria.

Syria said it shot down a Turkish aircraft over its territorial waters after its invasion of Syria's airspace. However, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that the plane was shot down in international airspace and that wreckage fell into the territorial waters of Syria.

[samizdat]

British forces in Syria, Assad presidential compound said under attack
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 26, 2012, 11:59 AM (GMT+02:00) Tags: Syria military operation British forces Bashar Assad Vladimir Putin Qaisoun Palace

British special forces on field mission
Unconfirmed first reports from British, French and Turkish sources say British special operations forces crossed from Turkey into northern Syria Tuesday, May 26, and advanced up to 10 kilometers inside the country. The same sources report heavy fighting around the Presidential Guards compound on the outskirts of Damascus.
DEBKAfile’s military sources note that this compound exists to defend Bashar Assad’s presidential palace on Mount Qaisoun overlooking Damascus.
British and Gulf TV stations are again running interviews with dozens of Syrian soldiers taken prisoner by rebel forces and transferred to Free Syrian Army centers in South Turkey. But this time, they are being aired in conjunction with those two developments, indicating pivotal and coordinated military action inside the embattled country, or even the start of western intervention against the Assad regime.
Later Tuesday, Gulf military sources confirmed the presence of British special forces in Syria.
Our military sources estimate that the British military drive into Syria, if confirmed, is designed to establish the first safe zone along the Syrian-Turkish border, to be followed by more Western military incursions to establish additional zones of safe asylum in other parts of Syria.
This follow-up action would depend substantially on Syrian, Russian and Iranian (+ Hizballah) responses to the initial stage of the operation.
The reported British incursion, if confirmed, occurred at the tail end of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 24-hour visit to Israel Tuesday morning and would have posed a direct challenge to his repeated warning that Moscow would not tolerate Western military intervention in Syria and actively prevent it. Similar warnings have issued from Tehran.
As for the timing, the double military drive against Assad also occurred hours before a NATO “consultation” in Brussels on the shooting down of a Turkish warplane by Syria last Friday, June 22, which Ankara stated Monday “must not go unpunished.”
The two-pronged operation - the reported British incursion and major clash at the front door of Assad’s presidential palace - would appear to be designed to widen the cracks in his regime and speed its final breakup.

On June 11, DEBKAfile ran a video report on President Barack Obama’s decision to speed up limited action against Bashar Assad.

http://www.debka.com/article/22073/

[vector7]

British Forces Plan Secret Operation in Syria

Date: 2012/06/06 - 12:18



British defense chiefs have drawn up secret plans to start covert military operations in Syria.

British Forces Plan Secret Operation in Syria(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - British defense chiefs have drawn up secret plans to start covert military operations in Syria.

A Daily Star report said SAS troops and MI6 agents are in Syria ready to help armed rebels and terrorist groups if civil war breaks out as - expected this weekend.

They also have *hi-tech satellite computers and radios that can instantly send back photos and details of Assad's forces as the situation develops.

Whitehall sources say it is vital they can see what is happening on the ground for themselves.

And if civil war breaks out the crack troops are on hand to help with fighting, said the *insider.

British Foreign secretary William Hague has refused to rule out using military action against the Syrian government.

A senior Whitehall source said the British forces are due to create "safe havens for the rebels in Syria", admitting that "safe havens (operations) would be an invasion of Syria".

"The SAS will throw an armed screen round these areas that can be set up within hours.

"There are guys in the communications unit who are signalers that can go right up front and get *involved in close-quarter fighting."

The rebel Syrian Free Army has dismissed the UN-backed truce and has continued attacks on not just military centers, but civilians despite the ceasefire required by the peace plan.

Nearly 2,300 Syrians have been killed by terrorists since the ceasefire supposedly took effect in mid April.

Last week 108 men, women and children were slaughtered in Houla, a majority of them belonging to a tribe which is widely known to be a supporter of President Bashar al-Assad.

The British troops would be part of an international force *including French and Turkish soldiers and possibly Americans.

Safe havens are expected to be set up around areas that are easily accessible and even within walking distance from what are known to be terrorist hubs.

Among them is Krak des Chevaliers, a medieval castle about 25 miles West of Homs, close to the Lebanon border.

It is also a World Heritage site.

Another is As Suwayda, near the border with Jordan and Jisr al-Shughour near the Turkish border.



Britain puts Fighter Jets on Standby to Launch Attack on Syria with Turkey



Media reports say UK fighter planes are on stand-by to launch an attack on Syria.

British media reports say the country’s fighter planes are on stand-by to invade Syria if Britain’s NATO ally, Turkey, decides to launch a strike on Syria in retaliation for shooting down a Turkish jet fighter.

The Daily Star reported that British fighter jets are on stand-by to launch a strike on Syria while Turkish President Abdullah Gul has admitted the Turkish Phantom jet fighter might have violated Syria’s airspace.

On Friday 22 June, Syria announced that its air defence forces shot down a Turkish F-4 Phantom in the Syrian airspace. One day later, in an interview with Turkey’s state-run Anatolia news agency, Gul admitted that the Turkish jet fighter might have violated Syria’s airspace.

“It is routine for jet fighters to sometimes fly in and out over [national] borders…when you consider their speed over the sea”, the news agency quoted Gul.

This comes as the Convention of International Civil Aviation, which establishes rules of airspace, clearly states that any “affected state”, whose airspace has been violated by “a foreign aircraft”, “would have the legal right” to shoot down “the offending aircraft”.

Nevertheless, Britain did not hesitate to condemn Syria’s “action in shooting down a Turkish military plane,” getting prepared for a NATO-led strike.

Britain’s measures make good sense against the backdrop of British Prime Minister David Cameron’s joke with his fellow Tory MPs saying “Where shall I invade next? I’ve done Libya” as he stopped in front of a map of the world at his Downing Street flat.

Moreover, several reports have taken the lid off Britain’s role in assisting Syria’s armed rebels in their bloody battle against civilians. Earlier this year, DEBKAfile, an Israeli military intelligence, reported that British troops were in Syria leading armed groups. Earlier this month, The Daily Star also revealed that Britain’s Special Air Service (SAS) and MI6 agents were setting up camps in Syria to help armed rebels in case a civil war would break out in the country.

[vector7]

Syria shoots down second Turkish plane

Istanbul: 10 hours and 21 minutes ago



Turkish Vice Prime Minister Bulent Arinc yesterday said the shooting down of a fighter jet was a "hostile act of the highest order" by Syria and claimed a rescue plane was also attacked.

Arinc also told a news conference after a cabinet meeting to discuss Friday's incident, which has fuelled fresh tensions between the once close neighbours, that Ankara could halt power supplies to Damascus.

"To target an aircraft in this fashion without any warning is a hostile act of the highest order," he said, adding that the F-4 Phantom was struck by a heat-seeking guided missile.

He also said Syrian troops opened fire on a rescue plane searching for the pilots but did not specify when.

"One of our Casa planes took off with a rescue team. Unfortunately, shots from the ground targeted our plane.

"Our foreign ministry and military command notified Syrian authorities and this harassment ceased immediately," Arinc said.

The Nato alliance is to hold an emergency meeting on Friday's incident in Brussels today at the request of Turkey.

Turkey-Syria relations were already strained by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's outspoken condemnation of the Syrian regime's bloody crackdown, which rights activists say has killed more than 15,000 people since March 2011.

Arinc warning that Ankara could switch off power exports, said: "We have considered that for humanitarian reasons one should supply electricity to Syria so that the daily lives of the people are not affected.”

“For the moment we will continue with this... but in one or two days there will be a declaration whether we will continue or not," he concluded.

Syria violated 2008 agreement by firing at second plane

26 June 2012 / SINEM CENGIZ, ANKARA

Syrian forces firing at a Turkish aircraft dispatched on a search and rescue (SAR) mission on Monday may have violated a bilateral agreement signed between Turkey and Syria.

Under the provisions of the 2008 Coordinating Search and Rescue Services Agreement, Turkey has the right to claim that Syria violated the agreement by deliberately firing at the second Turkish plane.

The agreement emphasizes that both states should take appropriate measures to facilitate the entry of SAR units into each other’s search and rescue regions (SRR) and the reciprocal use of facilities in SRRs while engaging in SAR missions.

By firing at a Turkish aircraft the Syrian regime has effectively hindered the conduct of a search and rescue mission, violating Article 3 of the agreement.

Shortly after an F-4 reconnaissance jet was shot down by Syria last week, four helicopters and two ships were dispatched on an initial search operation, followed by a military turboprop transport aircraft.

Turkey said on Monday that Syrian forces had fired towards a Turkish military transport plane involved in a search for the F-4 jet but that the second aircraft was not brought down.

According to the agreement, which was signed between two countries on Oct.14, 2008 in Ankara and approved by the Turkish Parliament on Nov. 3, 2010, along with Law No. 6044, both states should take urgent measures to provide the most appropriate assistance to each other in the event of SAR operations.

However, Syria’s account of Monday’s incident seems likely to violate the agreement signed between the two neighbors and is liable to inflame tensions in Turkey, already running high due to the shooting down of a Turkish jet last week by Syrian forces.

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arýnç said the second plane, which had gone to look for the Turkish pilots from the first aircraft, was fired on by Syrian forces, which he described as a short period of harassing fire.

Under the provisions of the agreement, both states through their respective rescue coordination centers should promptly and regularly exchange SAR information concerning any actual or potential distress situation and assist each other to the extent possible in conducting SAR missions in their respective SRRs and across common SRR boundaries.

A Foreign Ministry official has said the plane returned to Turkish airspace immediately after being fired on and that the SAR operation resumed following communications “through military and diplomatic channels,” adding that there were no injuries to anyone aboard the transport aircraft.

Arýnç also stated for the first time that Syrian forces had opened fire on a Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) SAR plane.

According to Article 3 of the agreement, both states, upon receiving information about a maritime or aeronautical incident where any person is in distress within its SRR, should take urgent measures to provide the most appropriate assistance, regardless of the nationality or status of persons involved or the circumstances of the incident. Additionally, one state should advise the other of the operational periods or hours of its Rescue Coordination Center.

[American Patriot]

Where are the Russian Troops? in the compound?

Ryan, Mal, stand by for an email shortly. I'm not finished on that paper, but it's probably good to get it out if something happens. If not... oh well.

[vector7]

06/26/2012
NATO Says Fighter Jet Downing 'Unacceptable'



Erdogan Takes Tough Stance against Syrian Regime

Ankara adopted a harsh tone against the Syrian regime on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Erdogan condemning last week's attack on a Turkish fighter jet and threatening military retaliation for any further aggression. At a meeting in Brussels, fellow NATO members supported Turkey by criticizing Syria's action.

After Syria shot down a Turkish military jet last week, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued strong words against the neighboring country on Tuesday, calling once again for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down.

"We will continue to support the struggle of our brothers in Syria at any cost," Erdogan said in a speech before the parliamentary group of his Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Ankara. He also strongly condemned the Syrian downing of the Turkish fighter jet, announcing that Turkey would retaliate against any further aggression.

"The rules of engagement of the Turkish Armed Forces have changed," Erdogan said. "Any military element that approaches the Turkish border from Syria by posing a security risk and danger will be regarded as a threat and treated as a military target."

The Turkish prime minister insisted that Syria shot down the fighter jet in a "deliberate" and "hostile" action. According to Ankara, the unarmed RF-4E "Phantom" unintentionally entered Syrian airspace for a short time on Friday during a training mission, after which it was shot down in international airspace over the Mediterranean Sea near Syria. Damascus, however, claims that the incident happened in Syrian airspace. The two pilots who had manned the aircraft are still missing.

Though Turkey does not want war with Syria, it is not a country that stands by when such an attack occurs, Erdogan added in his speech. Other leading members of his party have also said Turkey would not start a war over the incident.

NATO Condemns Attack

Meanwhile, the head of the NATO military alliance, Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, called it a "completely unacceptable act" that the alliance condemned "in the strongest terms" after a meeting with Turkish officials and ambassadors to the 28-nation North Atlantic Treaty Alliance on Tuesday. Turkey had call for the meeting by invoking Article 4 of the NATO charter, which entitles it to consultations between member states when one feels its territorial integrity, political independence or security is under threat. Rasmussen said the possibility of invoking Article 5, which would define the attack as one on all member states and set the course for military action, had not been discussed at the meeting.

"We consider these acts to be unacceptable and condemn it in the strongest terms," Rasmussen told reporters. "It is another example of the Syrian authorities' disregard for international norms, peace and security and human life."

When asked what NATO would do in the case of another such event, Rasmussen said: "It's my clear expectation that the situation won't continue to escalate." Still, the statements coming from Brussels do give Ankara greater playing room to flex its verbal muscles.

In his speech given in Ankara, Erdogan emphasized his support for the Syrian opposition, saying that Assad's regime had lost all credibility and was now not only a threat to the Syrian people, but to Turkey as well. Assad's regime has been attempting with increasing violence to put down an uprising that began some 16 months ago. The United Nations estimates that there have been at least 10,000 civilian victims, while the Syrian government claims to have lost some 2,600 police officers and soldiers.

Despite the escalation, NATO has refrained from intervening in the conflict as it did in efforts to topple Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi last year. Compared to forces in Libya, where NATO created a no-fly zone last year that ultimately helped give rebels the upper hand against the deposed Libyan dictator, the Syrian army is relatively strong. The country's powerful air-defense systems have also led Turkey and its NATO partners to shy away from a military intervention. Even if many of its anti-aircraft missiles originate from Soviet times, the country's air space is better protected than that of almost any other Arab nation. Around 40,000 soldiers from 25 brigades man Syria's air defense stations, Western defense observers believe. In addition, NATO fears that foreign interference could also spark widespread unrest in the already unstable region.

On Monday, the foreign ministers of the European Union's 27 member states also strongly condemned the attack on the Turkish plane, calling it "unacceptable" in a statement.

"Even if there was a temporary violation of Syrian airspace, shooting down a plane is not justified," German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said the same day. "De-escalation is now what is needed."

[vector7]

Syrian rebels clash with elite troops outside Damascus

Fighting suggests growing boldness by the insurgents as the effort to oust Assad turns increasingly militarized

June 26, 2012, 5:54 pm

As the struggle to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad continues, Free Syrian Army members train with their weapons on the outskirts of Idlib, Syria, June 9 (photo credit: AP)

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s elite Republican Guard forces clashed with rebels just outside Damascus Tuesday in some of the most intense fighting involving the special forces guarding the capital since an uprising against President Bashar Assad’s regime began last year, activists said.

The clashes erupted near Republican Guard housing compounds and bases in the suburbs of Qudsaya and Hammah, about five miles (eight kilometers) from central Damascus, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. It said at least six people were killed in the fighting.

The Republican Guard, which is commanded by Assad’s younger brother Maher, is tasked with protecting the capital, the seat of the regime’s power.

The fighting suggested growing boldness by rebels as the more than 15-month effort to oust Assad turns increasingly militarized.

Clashes erupt regularly in the suburbs between troops and rebels, but Assad’s forces have firm control of Damascus and it is very rare for fighting to take place near the Republican Guard bases. It was unclear what prompted the clashes or how close they were to the heavily guarded compounds.

Assad has faced an embarrassing wave of defections in recent days, including several senior officers and soldiers who fled to neighboring Turkey. Although high-level defections appear to be increasing, Assad’s inner circle has remained largely intact.

State-run news agency SANA confirmed clashes in the area, claiming that dozens of gunmen attacked civilians and troops in Hammah. SANA said troops fought the attackers, including foreign fighters, killing dozens of them and detaining others.

Troops confiscated automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and large amounts of ammunition, according to SANA.

The Observatory and the Local Coordination Committees, another activist network, said troops stormed the Damascus neighborhood of Barzeh with armored personnel carriers, killing at least one person. Elsewhere in Syria, the LCC and the Observatory reported intense shelling in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour that killed at least five people.

Assad has promised reforms and named a new government last week, but it is headed by a key loyalist and the foreign, defense and interior ministers kept their jobs.

Syria’s new Cabinet was sworn in front of Assad on Tuesday, Syrian TV reported. The new government is headed by Riad Farid Hijab, a former agriculture minister and a member of the ruling Baath Party.

The opposition, which boycotted the parliamentary elections in May, accuses Assad of trying to buy time and strengthen his power even as international condemnation over the regime crackdown grows.

As Syria veers toward civil war, fears are mounting that the violence could ignite regional unrest. Syrian activists say that more than 14,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in March 2011.

In Brussels, NATO’s governing body met Tuesday and discussed the shooting down of a Turkish military plane by Syria last week.

The head of the NATO military alliance called the downing of the jet unacceptable after Turkey briefed NATO’s North Atlantic Council on the incident. The talks were held under Article 4 of NATO’s founding treaty, which allows a NATO member to request consultations if its security has been threatened.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance condemned the Syrian attack “in the strongest terms” and expressed solidarity with Turkey but did not speak of any possible armed action against Syria.

“It’s my clear expectation that the situation won’t continue to escalate,” Fogh Rasmussen told reporters after Tuesday’s meeting. “What we have seen is a completely unacceptable act and I would expect Syria to take all necessary steps to avoid such events in the future.”

Syria says the aircraft violated its airspace. But Turkey disagrees. According to Turkish officials, the plane had unintentionally strayed into Syrian airspace, but it was inside international airspace when it was brought down.

The jet’s two missing crew members have not been found.

Turkey said Tuesday its military will respond to any future violation of its border by Syrian military elements. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkish Armed Forces “will respond to all violations on the Syrian border.”

He said Syrian helicopters have violated Turkish airspace five times recently, without Turkish response.

Also Tuesday, Syria’s state-run news agency said Syrian troops killed 10 “terrorists” in the Damascus suburb of Douma Monday night. The Syrian government refers to rebels as terrorists.


Putin Warns Attack on Iran Will Backfire

Putin warns attacking Iran will backfire, and the world should keep its nose out of affairs in Syria, where Russia has a vested interest.

AAFont Size
By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
First Publish: 6/26/2012, 8:15 AM

Putin and Netanyahu on Monday
Reuters

Visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin warned President Shimon Peres Monday that attacking Iran could backfire. He also advised the world to keep its nose out of affairs in Syria, where Russia has a vested interest.

"Look at what happened to the Americans in Afghanistan and in Iraq. I told Obama the same thing," Putin stated concerning Iran. “There is no need to do things too quickly; one should not act without thinking first.”

Recalling the American objective to end the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the country, Putin noted, "Iraq has a pro-Iranian regime after everything that has happened there. These things should be thought out ahead of time before doing something one will regret later."

Putin and his Israeli hosts made their disagreements on Iran obvious although Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in a separate meetng that he and Putin were able to agree “that Iran’s continued pursuit of nuclear weapons is a grave threat first and foremost to Israel, but also to the region and to the world.”

They clearly were at odds on how to stop that pursuit.

Russia has been a constant opponent to American-led efforts to pressure Iran to allow United Nations supervision of its nuclear development program, which Tehran insists is for peaceful purposes and not for the objective of building a nuclear weapon.

President Peres told his guest, "The Iranian people are not our enemy. Israel does threaten their existence. It is Iran's current regime that indentifies itself as an enemy of Israel and a threat to its existence."

Prime Minister Netanyahu was blunter. He said, "I believe that we should be doing two things now: Boosting the sanctions and also boosting the demands.

“Israel believes that the international community should have three clear demands of Iran: Stop enriching uranium inside Iran; remove all the enriched uranium from Iran; and dismantle the underground nuclear facility near Qom.”

Similarly, Putin and Netanyahu were at odds on Syria, where Russia has supplied President Bashar Assad with massive military weapons, and perhaps chemical weapons, which have been used to bomb and kill 15,000 opponents of the regime during the 16-month-old uprising.

Besides expressing wishes for peace and warning against outside interference, Putin avoided Syria.

Prime Minister Netanyahu told Putin, “Regarding our neighbor to the north, a way to end the killing and the terrible suffering of the citizens of Syria must be found.”

He and Putin also released blatantly different statement on the declaration that Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi won the presidential elections in Egypt.

Putin “congratulated” Morsi on his victory, according to Russian media, and the Russian president noted “he hopes for constructive cooperation with Egypt’s new leadership in the aim of developing Russian-Egyptian relations and ensuring peace and stability in the Middle East.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu simply noted that Israel “appreciates the democratic process in Egypt and respects its outcome.”

He called for “continued cooperation with the Egyptian administration on the basis of the peace accord between the two countries, which is in the interest of the two peoples and contributes to regional stability”.

[vector7]

Does this mean the Obama Administration is about to declare WAR WITH IRAN AND SYRIA while blaming Russia for helping them?

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
June 25, 2012

Letter--Russian Highly Enriched Uranium

TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT TO THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE

June 25, 2012

Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President)

Pursuant to section 204(b) of the International Emergency Economic

Powers Act (IEEPA), 50 U.S.C. 1703(b), I hereby report that I have exercised my authority to declare a national emergency to deal with the threat posed to the United States by the risk of nuclear proliferation created by the accumulation in the Russian Federation of a large volume of weapons-usable fissile material.

In Executive Order 13159 of June 21, 2000, the President found that this same risk constituted an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States and declared a national emergency to deal with that threat. The United States and the Russian Federation had entered into a series of agreements that provide for the conversion of highly enriched uranium (HEU) extracted from Russian nuclear weapons into low enriched uranium (LEU) for use in commercial nuclear reactors. There were concerns that payments due to the Russian Federation under these agreements may be subject to attachment, garnishment, or other judicial process, in the United States, which could put implementation of such agreements at risk. In Executive Order 13159, the President therefore ordered blocked all property and interests in property of the Government of the Russian Federation directly related to the implementation of the HEU Agreements so that it would be protected from the threat of attachment, garnishment, or other judicial process.

In the Executive Order I have issued today, I find that the risk of nuclear proliferation created by the accumulation in the Russian Federation of a large volume of weapons-usable fissile material continues to constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. I therefore declared a national emergency to address this threat and to continue the blocking of all property and interests in property of the Government of the Russian Federation directly related to the implementation of the HEU Agreements.

A major national security goal of the United States is to ensure that fissile material removed from Russian nuclear weapons pursuant to various arms control and disarmament agreements is dedicated to peaceful uses, subject to transparency measures, and protected from diversion to activities of proliferation concern. The United States and the Russian Federation entered into an international agreement in February 1993 to deal with these issues as they relate to the disposition of HEU extracted from Russian nuclear weapons (the "HEU Agreement"). The HEU Agreement provides for 500 metric tons of HEU to be converted to LEU over a 20-year period. This is the equivalent of 20,000 nuclear warheads.

Additional agreements were put in place to effectuate the HEU Agreement, including agreements and contracts on transparency, on the appointment of executive agents to assist in implementing the agreements, and on the disposition of LEU delivered to the United States (collectively, the "HEU Agreements"). Under the HEU Agreements, the Russian Federation extracts HEU metal from nuclear weapons. That HEU is oxidized and blended down to LEU in the Russian Federation. The resulting LEU is shipped to the United States for fabrication into fuel for commercial reactors.

The HEU Agreements provide for the Russian Federation to receive money and uranium hexafluoride in payment for each shipment of LEU converted from the Russian nuclear weapons. The money and uranium hexafluoride are transferred to the Russian Federation executive agent in the United States.

The executive branch and the Congress have previously recognized and continue to recognize the threat posed to the United States national security from the risk of nuclear proliferation created by the accumulation of weapons-usable fissile material in the Russian Federation. This threat is the basis for significant programs aimed at Cooperative Threat Reduction and at controlling excess fissile material. The HEU Agreements are essential tools to accomplish these overall national security goals. The Congress has repeatedly demonstrated support for these agreements.

Payments made to the Russian Federation pursuant to the HEU Agreements are integral to the operation of this key national security program. Uncertainty surrounding litigation and the possible attachment, garnishment, or other judicial process that could impede these payments could lead to a long term suspension of the HEU Agreements, which creates the risk of nuclear proliferation. This is an unacceptable threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.

Accordingly, I have concluded that all property and interests in property of the Government of the Russian Federation directly related to the implementation of the HEU Agreements should remain protected from the threat of attachment, garnishment, or other judicial process. I have, therefore, exercised my authority and issued an Executive Order that provides:

except to the extent provided in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to the order, or that were issued pursuant to Executive Order 13159 of June 21, 2000, all property and interests in property of the Government of the Russian Federation directly related to the implementation of the HEU Agreements that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States persons, including any foreign branch, are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in;

unless licensed or authorized pursuant to the order, any attachment, judgment, decree, lien, execution, garnishment, or other judicial process is null and void with respect to any property or interest in property blocked pursuant to the order; and that all heads of departments and agencies of the United States Government shall continue to take all appropriate measures within their authority to further the full implementation of the HEU Agreements.

The effect of this Executive Order is limited to property that is directly related to the implementation of the HEU Agreements. Such property will be clearly defined by the regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that will be issued pursuant to this Executive Order. I have delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the authority to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the order. All agencies of the United States Government are directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of the order.

I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued.

Sincerely,

BARACK OBAMA

[American Patriot]

Does this mean the Obama Administration is about to declare WAR WITH IRAN AND SYRIA while blaming Russia for helping them?

I think so.