E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSRussia and China both joined the U.S. in warning Syria that the use of weapons of mass destruction would have grave consequences, raising the question as to what will become of the chemical weapons if Assad's regime falls. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.
There is no evidence yet that the Syrian military has actually begun the process of mixing precursor chemicals to produce deadly Sarin nerve gas, a senior defense official told NBC News on Tuesday.
According to the official, despite the increased activity around several chemical weapons sites, including truck movements in and out, it’s not even clear that the precursors have been moved from separate storage sites to one location.
On Monday, US officials said the Syrian regime has ordered its Chemical Weapons Corps to “be prepared” which was interpreted to mean get all the precursors and pieces together to at least begin preparations for weaponization. The officials stressed the directive did not come directly from President Bashir Assad and did not order the use of chemical weapons. Those officials said yesterday, as the senior official repeated Tuesday that no evidence process has begun.
Citing concern about the possibility that Syria might use chemical weapons as well as the potential spillover of the ongoing civil war, NATO foreign ministers decided to deploy a Patriot missile defense system in Turkey on Tuesday. The Patriot system is designed to shoot down incoming aircraft, missiles or drones.
As for the President Obama’s warning there will be “consequences” if Syria does use chemical weapons, the officials say the US military does have “contingency plans” (they always have contingency plans) for a possible military response. The White House has not detailed what those contingency plans are to date.
Officials suggest a US ground assault would pose the greatest risk and be least likely. It would take “thousands” of ground forces to seize, secure and hold about a dozen weapons sites.
President Obama made clear to Syrian President Bashar Assad and those under his command that "the world is watching" and the use of chemical weapons would be "totally unacceptable." If Syria does try to use those weapons, Obama added, there will be consequences. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.
Most likely would be airstrikes primarily with GPS-guided cruise missiles. Piloted fighter-bombers would be forced to run a gauntlet of sophisticated Russian anti-aircraft missile defenses.
One senior official warned that bombing chemical weapons sites would pose a high risk of releasing deadly clouds of the Sarin nerve gas. Instead, the official suggests airstrikes could be aimed directly at Syrian regime leadership. “We would punish the leadership,” said the official.
As of today, US defense and military officials tell us there are still no warning orders or alerts to any US military forces to prepare for any possible military action against Syria.
More world stories from NBC News:
- Cops hurt as British unionist protesters try to storm Belfast City Hall in flag spat
- Supporters of Islamist president push Egypt to tipping point
- North Korea pays tribute to Kim Jong Il's 'threadbare' parka
- ANALYSIS: Egyptians warn Morsi is no friend of US
- Bread and expired milk: School lunch scandal sparks outrage in China
- PhotoBlog: Building South Sudan from scratch
- ANALYSIS: UN Palestinian vote a personal victory for Abbas
- Fast cars go cheap as bubble bursts in 'China's Dubai'
- Experts: Antarctica, Greenland ice melting into sea
Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook
Leave a Comment:
All this chemical warfare talk (and Sarin nervegas to boot) was started by Turkey's PM Erdogan in order to get NATO invilved in the Syrian civil war. Yesterday he met with Putin (Russian Pres.) and Russia wants Assad and oppostion to hold talks now. UN cleared or in process of clearing its personnel (100+) from Syria because of the chemical weapons hysteria started by Obama/Erdogan. Turkey's Erdogan is the liaison to foreign fighters (US given monies to Libya underwriting the foreign jihadists in Syria . Why did US/Pentagon at the NATO vote for Turkey's getting the Patriot missiles in lieu of sarin production start-up and now Pentagon - no evidence- a couple of days ago a Pentagon lawyer- Al Qaeda no more defense dept. problem- it is law enforcement's prpoblem. Are these people talking to each other or is everybody following a different directive from WH? Sarin is a very deadly nerve gas.
This is nothing more than chest thumping and fear mongering by Obama. He knows full well that the American people will not support us getting involved in Syria and that he likely does not have the support needed in Congress for such a move. I am sure that the fear of chemical weapons is also being stoked by Turkey to try and draw in NATO. Turkey has taken the side of the rebels and allowed them to use Turkish soil to base their operations and launch attacks against Assad's forces. They are trying to claim they are neutral and invoke the NATO treaty to get help, but they are not impartial and have taken sides and so should not be eligible for assistance under the NATO treaty mutual defense provisions.
In addition, Obama's warning is meaningless as he has given Assad the same warning before. I seriously doubt that Assad has any intentions of using chemical weapons. My guess would be that they are moving them to keep them from falling into the hands of the so-called rebels. Many of these rebel groups are nothing more than Islamic terrorists who want control of Syria for themselves. They are the real threat when it comes to these chemical weapons because they are definitely not above using them. That should be the real worry for the US and other western nations, the rebels getting their hands on these weapons, not that Assad would use them.
The old saying when things go bad on the home front detract the citizens' attention to things about foreign policy!
If the U.S. can send missiles to destroy the chemical weapon's factories, why not just send one missile to Assad's residence and stop the bloody mess now?
Why does Obama love wars so much. Despite saying during 2008 he would get us out of Iraq as soon as elected , he did not. Despite saying he get us out of Afghanistan, we are still there waging war years after he said he would get us out.
In Libya , he jumped into war and remained waging it till we drove out the government and set the stage for the inevitable take over by the Islamists.
Now he threatens war in Syria.
The feeling of power the president receives must produce an irresistible desire to wage war.
i mixed chemical agents earlier...bean juice,cabbage and broccoli...and i'm on my way to wall-mart...to get even with the cat piss people...
JS you are an idiot. Stop saying @!$%# you have no idea about.
Congress would green light Obama to blow ANYTHING UP, period. GOP wants to go in and clean up, believe me.
This is not Obama chest thumping, this is him drawing a RED line loud and clear, this is what you do to prevent the possible use.
This is not the rethuglicans thinking they are putting everyone on notice, and basically calling to shock an awe syria, or calling them axis of evil, etc. That my friend is chest thumping.
Obama is a tactician, one of the only US presidents to actually be intelligent about this kind of stuff. Everyone on here thinks THEY have it all figured out, yet they are so blind.
Many of you are just sh!t heads (JS in SD and Gary) This was not Obama, nor Turkey, nor Syria for that matter. It was the fricken Pentagon who said this. That means they are watching via satellites very high in the sky and what they know on the ground to see if gases are being prepared.
Read the fricken story
gary-309869, Obama said during his campaign in 2008 that he would remove all combat troops from Iraq in 16 months and promised to place a surge of troops in Afghanistan. If you are lying, stop. If you truly made up in your head policies and positions that never existed, then you need to do some simple research before saying anything more.
@ JS in SD. You mean like the chest thumping and fear mongering that Bush did about Iraq?
Osama Bin Laden would be asking that same question if, well, you know, if he could.
Idiots, the only evidence you are going to see are a lot of dead bodies and it will be to late.
Syria is mixing up WMD's?!!!! Prepare the land invasion! Call Dick and get his opinion...never mind, we'll go to war will the army we have! Kill them all, and let Allah sort them out! Buy new drones, ships, planes, personal body armor, and for God's sake, a new version of the M4. I love the smell of diesel fumes on a cool morning...it reminds me of the armored corps.
Interesting, but who believes the Pentagon? Not I. So far all they do is speculate and lie, as seen before.
As long as we stay out of it, let the Syrians deal with their own problems however they like.
If it ends up they do use chemicals I am sure Obama will come up with a good story to deny it.
Yes you are another middle-class...and apparently one not of this earth. I know this will be tough for you to grasp but...President Obama warned the Syrians NOT to use chemical weapons on the rebels. Ok, you can go back to FOX news now and if anything interesting happens...we'll let you know.
No evidence Syria mixing chemical agents, Pentagon official says - That means they are...right?
Yeah I feel like the CIA isn't telling us the whole story, it's probably Susan Rice's fault.
nah, it's my fault. or yours.
How does punishing leadership keep civilians alive? I don't understand the thinking here? Can anyone explain?
(Looking for serious answers, not Obama bashing, please.)
It DOESN'T. For the simple reason that intervention by foreign powers in a country's civil war is invariably accompanied by this little detail called collateral damage. Which exponentially increased the casualties, both civilian and military personnel involved.
But you see, we have the media crying that the sky is falling. That we must "spread democracy across the globe". " We must liberate these poor, oppressed little darlings" and the most famous b.s. line: "it's in the interests of our national security." Problem for them is, no one here is buying any of it anymore. So there may be hope for us yet.
Remember, those who bytch the most about Obama's foreign policy are the very ones who would run away with their kids to Canada if a full scale intervention on our part ever came to pass.
BinNH. Only the leadership of Syria can decide to use chemical weapons. Threatening the leadership would be more likely to cause them to resist the urge to put themselves in danger by using the weapons than if their nameless weapon stash guards were threatened.
"War is peace....Freedom is slavery....Ignorance is strength."~ George Orwell, 1984
The Wall Street Corrupted Corporate Media just keeps pushing their so called "Truth" and Obama will get his next UN "Not War" at "Our" Expense and "Their" Profits just you wait and see!
Yesterday Obama was threatening Syria over their "WMD" and today the Pentagon says "No evidence" of mixing the chemicals. All the while "we" are supporting and encouraging Al Qaeda to attack Targets of Opportunity" in Syria.
So if you where President Assad wouldn't you want to be able to move these poisons out of harms way and not let them fall into Al Qaeda's hands?
Psst before you jump of the WMD Band Wagon remember "Israel" and Turkey own or have access to Nuclear Weapons!
So far Turkey is the "Admitted" Aggressor against Syria by supporting Al Qaeda in Syria, which is against the NATO Treaty and we have NO BUSINESS getting involved supporting Al Qaeda first in Libya now in Syria! The Russians and the Chinese have already said "They" will get involved if we do!
What is Syria worth to you? New York City or LA? Maybe Houston or Seattle? The one place you can bet your last dollar won't go up in a "Mushroom Cloud" will be Washington DC!
Now is the Time to get US out of NATO and the UN's Endless "Not Wars".....Let US stop letting the Tail Wag the Dog and if UN Globalists want to start another "Not War", let "Them" pay for it this time!
Impeach Obama in 2012 for Criminal Conspiracy to Cover Up the Murder of an American Ambassador, Secret CIA Prisons and Supporting Al Qaeda in Benghazi-Gate!
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever." ~George Orwell,
re: leaving NATO and the UN... are advocating complete isolationism, or replacing one or the other with something that you feel will be more productive?
Mifo
Out of NATO (Out Dated, Euro Centric and Far Too Expensive) and to quit paying for the Endless UN "Not Wars" with OUR Blood & Treasure! It is time to "Stop The War On America" (oops terror)
Let US Focus on Rebuilding America and not Policing the World!
An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind. ~Mahatma Gandhi
Translation...... Its fine if you want to murder thousands of people with tanks, bombs, and machine guns, including women and children. But, if you use chemical weapons, we'll REALLY pretend to be outraged... Give me a break...
Good point.. and a funny one -- but I am glad that the rhetoric is getting a bit toned down.. as the last President who started getting 'outraged' by so-called Chemical weapons (George W. Bush) dragged us into a outrageous war in Iraq.
I really am getting tired of the lies and opposing stories from this government. What a bunch of amateurs.
I'm sick to death of you. Why don't you and your ilk all go to Texass and secede already? I'll help you pack.
I'll even stick around to help build the wall to keep you in.
We all know, that the US intelligence is the finest ;-)
Kind of an oxymoron isn't it?
Wonder what Ron Paul would do if he were president.
Cut taxes?
End Capital Gains Tax?
Disband FEMA?
Legalize Marijuana?...ok, not all his ideas are bad.
Of course not, Right Obama? Your not going to start telling the truth now, Why would you?
Very dramatic; I feel a "Rice" moment coming. Chemical weapons sound dramatic and are notoriously inefficient for killing anyone. The shell burst contaminates a very small area. To deliver a gas cloud you have to depend on local winds at ground level, not predictable. Yes you can kill a handfull of civilains and make a dramatic statement but a battery six of 152mm antipersonnel bomblets covers a larger area far more reliably. And no one objects to artillery on civilians. As for standing in the middle of the court yard waving a sign saying "Mixing precursors" - not going to happen; the shells would be filled indoors at night, undetected and deployed under cover of darkness. As for Al Qaeda seizing a few rounds, remember the Japanese group that made Sarin and released it in the subway; AQ has more than enough chemists to make Sarin or any of the other classics without Syrian help. This is just the usual Obama puffery making bold statements about a non-threat to make it look like he is a strong force to be dealt with.
Funny, their stockpiles rose in Feb 2003, as reported widely. Then got hushed up. Except some mainstream rags reported the DOD had satelitte video of tractor trailers leaving suspected chemical sites in Iraq and heading straight to Syria. Vis a Vis when Iraq flew its air force into Arch enemy Iran in the first Gulf War. Now you know where the WMDs are.
Can you provide a credible source? At least one more credible than Tea Party Command Center...ROFLMAO
Now there's some of the WEAPONS of MASS Destruction that were once in IRAQ
It is really funny to see how many truly ignorant people are on these vines every day...amazing...truly amazing!
Alot of dumb people, true. Who could have thought the entire West's and Isreal s intelligence didn't know about the WMD's in Iraq. And Iraq's personell couldn't tell how they disposed of the weapons after they kicked the UN out in 1999? Best excuse, by some iraqi scientisit, "we took them out in the desert and disposed of them, but didn't tell Saddam"....ROTLMAO at that one. And the Main Stream Media sold that!
R Scott
UN Inspectors returned to Iraq before the war in 2002. You laugh about the "Main Street Media" and yet tout FOX News propaganda...Ironic!
just cant see any of this ending do ya... scary huh.. wait till the free flu shots kick in.
I'm mixing deadly gas in my pants right now. All it takes is a can of Bush's beans & my claim to weapons of mass destruction being present..... God look out
Thanks for the laugh...I needed that! LOL
lol... Hushman. You announce how many ignorant people are on tonight and the only comment you respond to is a fart joke? Glad something made you happy. :)
Chatterbug-
Try Bush's kidney beans. Strong effect with less mess than chili beans.
Get these towelheads they are lying.
why get them what do they have to do with us?
Why don't we just get out of there. The American people should evict all politicians and start over. New representatives and the death penalty to all who accept monies from special interest over the American people that they represent.
I read they were moving the chemicals so they wouldn't get in the hands of rebels. This movement is what sparked paranoia that they were going to use them. I just wish Assad would step down. His leadership is not wanted.
obamma is to coward to act he will go aplogize for us being americans and christians soon.
The era of bombing every frigging countries just because of arms sales and halliburton profits is what I call a bully and coward. Calling President Obama a coward is total nonsense. If you want war, go over yourself in Syria and solve their problems.
A better read is found on debka dot com. More information is provided where the U.S. propaganda machine (media outlets) stops short of viable intel. At least you have a better idea of where U.S. military forces are pre-positioned.
Suckers.
if you die of gas poisoning in syria do you get all those virgins ?
are those virgins like NFL cheerleaders ?
why is the united states getting involved in yet another bull @!$%# war in the middle east???? are we out of our minds ??????? let them handle their own country and start taking care of our problems here in the us we will bankrupt our country over a bunch of idiots [taliban] over there!!!!! mr president are you out of your mind???? are we the police of the whole f--king world??????
Obama’s pressure on al-Asad about Syria’s chemical weapons appears to be a repeat of 2003. Having abetted the rebellion that has fractured the country, it is a bit fatuous to lament control over WMDs. Has anyone even asked who would be more likely to provide al-Qaeda with these arms--Asad’s secular government or Salafist rebels? Apparently, it makes little difference who sits in the Oval Office when it comes to blundering in the Middle East.