Extensive preparations by Syrian army units for launching chemical weapons against rebel forces have been sighted in the northern town of Homs, Western intelligence agencies told debkafile’s military sources Tuesday, March 19.
Damascus paved the way for resorting to unconventional weaponry with an accusation run by the state news agency SANA Tuesday that Syrian rebels had fired a rocket containing chemical substances in the Khan al-Assad area of rural Aleppo, allegedly killing 15 people, mostly civilians.
This claim was not verified by any independent source.
Syria is ready to use chemical weapons – Western intelligence
Tag Archives: Weaponry
Syria is ready to use chemical weapons – Western intelligence
Posted by Matt
on March 19, 2013
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Khamenei says US unable to stop if Iran wants nuclear bomb – Channel NewsAsia
Posted by Matt
on February 16, 2013
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Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that Iran has no intention of developing nuclear weapons, but if it wanted to, the United States could not thwart it.
“We believe nuclear weapons must be abolished and we have no intention of building” such weaponry, Khamenei said in remarks posted on his website leader.ir.
But, Khamenei said, “if Iran had such intentions, the US could in no way prevent it” from making an atomic bomb.
Khamenei says US unable to stop if Iran wants nuclear bomb – Channel NewsAsia
Why Iran’s Top Leaders Believe That The End Of Days Has Come | Fox News | 1913 Intel
Assad may be preparing to take chemical weapons with him in a retreat from Damascus, Israeli expert says | The Times of Israel
Posted by Matt
on December 7, 2012
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Dictator’s own father said to have used hydrogen cyanide against Muslim Brotherhood activists when killing 20,000 in Hama in 1982
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“I see the developments as a card he’s holding against a slaughter at the hands of the Sunnis,” said Ely Karmon, a senior researcher at the International Institute for Counter-Terror at the IDC Herzliya, who teaches a masters course on chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear terrorism. “He could be trying to keep [the weaponry] away from the jihadist opposition and he could be preparing for a retreat.”
Karmon believes that Assad has a “plan in the drawer” in case he needs to flee the capital: relocating to the largely Alawite area along the coast between Latakia and Tartus and the banks of the Orontes River.
Military drills across country unveil new systems aimed at deterring U.S., Israel strikes | Washington Free Beacon
Posted by Matt
on November 15, 2012
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The unveiling of these advanced weapons and missiles is believed to be a warning to America and Israel against conducting a military strike on Iran’s nuclear sites.
“Too often, the White House and Pentagon look at these Iranian exercises and conclude they have more time, especially when something the Iranians try goes wrong,” said Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon adviser on Iran and Iraq. “This policy of procrastination is no substitute for strategy, however—after all, the Iranians can learn just as much from their mistakes as they can from their successes.”
The use of new missile systems indicates that Iran continues to have success building weaponry domestically despite Western economic sanctions.
“At the very least, the exercises show the trajectory in which the Iranian military would like to go,” Rubin said. “The exercises also should underline the notion that Iran’s indigenous arms industry is formidable and that sanctions alone will not be able to stop the regime.”
War will not resolve Gaza problem: Israeli official
Posted by Matt
on October 20, 2012
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A major Israeli attack on Gaza would not curb growing extremism in the Palestinian enclave, with the ruling Islamist group Hamas itself struggling to quell radicalism, a senior Israeli official said on Wednesday.
Voicing concern about a recent influx of increasingly potent weaponry into the Gaza Strip, the director of Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs told reporters that international pressure was needed to try to put an end to militancy.
Chicago Tribune – War will not resolve Gaza problem: Israeli official
Could War be Coming to America via the South China Sea and the Arctic?
Posted by Matt
on September 8, 2012
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The author argues that 20th century peace in North America was exceptional. And that is probably about to change. Increasing tension in the South China Sea suggests that warfare may return to North America. If that isn’t enough, the melting Arctic is just as likely to bring war upon North America.
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This century is likely to be far less exceptional than the last. In the South China Sea lie the possible causes of a return of warfare to North American shores. …
…. Unfortunately, the relative peace of the 20th century may become a thing of the past. With 21st century weaponry and technology, the pressures in the Arctic and the troubling signs coming from the South China Sea suggest that North America may finally – more precisely, once again – begin to understand and, just as importantly, feel that war is no longer a far-off event.
Russia and America: Vladimir Putin steps out | The Economist
Posted by Matt
on June 15, 2012
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But patience with Russia is running out. This week Mrs Clinton accused the Russians of sending attack helicopters to Syria and said that Russian claims that its weaponry had nothing to do with the fighting in Syria were “patently untrue”. Mr Obama is likely to warn Mr Putin that the Russian position on Syria is no longer credible and that, if Russia does not shift soon, it could be sidelined, perhaps by some foreign military intervention.
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Among American officials there is growing disappointment and irritation with Mr Putin, both for his standoffish attitude (they were flabbergasted when he failed to attend the G8 summit and a bilateral meeting with Mr Obama last month) and for his apparent unwillingness—or inability—to deliver. He may be waiting to see who wins America’s presidential election in November. But many in Washington think he is “full of bluster, and would like to be a big player at the table”, says Stephen Sestanovich of the Council on Foreign Relations, but that “he isn’t really up to it.” He could begin to prove otherwise—or not—in Mexico.
Russia and America: Vladimir Putin steps out | The Economist
Unease Mounting, China and U.S. to Open Military Talks – NYTimes.com
Posted by Matt
on May 1, 2012
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China is increasingly suspicious of what it views as stepped-up spying by American planes and ships along its coast, and the United States is disquieted by China’s growing array of weaponry, analysts on both sides say.
The two nations have been unable to agree on a serious agenda for military talks despite an escalation of tensions as China presses territorial claims in the East and South China Seas and the United States fortifies longstanding alliances from Australia to the Philippines.
Unease Mounting, China and U.S. to Open Military Talks – NYTimes.com
Putin pledges 400 ICBMs for Russia in 10 years
Posted by Matt
on February 23, 2012
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Russia’s armed forces will receive over 400 modern intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), more than 100 military spacecraft and over 2,300 new tanks within the next 10 years, Prime Minister and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin said.
Earlier media voiced fears that by 2020, Russia’ ICBM arsenal could reduce by more than half as over 400 missiles would go beyond their maximum service life without timely replacement.
Russia to Revamp Ballistic Missile Arsenal by 2020 | Defense | RIA Novosti
The share of new weaponry in the arsenal of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces (SMF) will reach 97% by 2020, SMF Commander Lt. Gen. Sergei Karakayev said.
The current share is about 30%, which includes Topol-M and RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM).
“We hope that this share will increase to 60 percent by 2016 and reach 97 percent by 2020,” Karakayev said on Tuesday during a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Russia to Revamp Ballistic Missile Arsenal by 2020 | Defense | RIA Novosti
Rumour: Assad “to declare war” on Israel following fresh airstrikes – The Commentator