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Subscribe to RSSJERUSALEM - Israel voiced doubt on Tuesday about claims that chemical weapons had been used against rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad.
Activists on Monday claimed civilians had suffered injuries consistent with exposure to some kind of poisonous gas.
"We have seen reports from the opposition. It is not the first time. The opposition has an interest in drawing in international military intervention," Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon said on Army Radio.
"As things stand now, we do not have any confirmation or proof that (chemical weapons) have already been used, but we are definitely following events with concern," he said.
Syria activists: Several die after Assad's forces use 'poisonous gases'
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights gathered activist accounts on Sunday of what they said was a poison gas attack in the city of Homs. The reports are difficult to verify, as the government restricts media access in Syria.
The Observatory, a British-based group with a network of activists across Syria, said those accounts spoke of six rebel fighters who died after inhaling smoke on the front line of Homs's urban battleground. It said it could not confirm that poison gas had been used and called for an investigation.
Syria has said it would never use chemical weapons against its citizens.
Asked about images purported to show patients being treated for possible gas poisoning, Yaalon said: "I'm not sure that what we're seeing in the photos is the result of the use of chemical weapons.
"It could be other things," he said, without elaborating.
On Sunday, senior Israeli defense official Amos Gilad said Syria's chemical weapons were still secure despite the fact that Assad had lost control of parts of the country.
As Syria's southern neighbor, Israel has been concerned about chemical weapons falling into the hands of Islamist militants or Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, cautioning it could intervene to stop such developments.
Earlier this month, President Barack Obama warned Assad that the use of chemical weapons by his regime would be "totally unacceptable.""If you make the tragic mistake of using these weapons there will be consequences and you will be held accountable," he said.
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My first thought is Assad lost his mind and used Chemical weapons, but the false flag accusation has some credence also.
I believe that if Syria does resort to using them, they will come in a large scale missile attack with thousands of casualties. Assad knows that he will pay the price so I have doubt he is testing the waters with just a small kill like this.
I doubt if Chemicals where used (yet). I think Israel intelligence is going to be reliable for they have a stake in this if militants were to get there hands on on NBC (nuclear,bio,chemical) weapons. Also I hardly believe only six people died on a battle front with few "other" casualties because when you use gas it can't be confined and it will have "residual" effects if it has any type of persistence. All of that being said, it raises the specter of escalation even to have those "rumors".
I hope and pray that as crazy as Assad can be.. I hope that he's not THAT crazy... once you let that genie out there is no going back.. I also think that America will have little impact seeing that we are embroiled with our own politics.
I agree with all of you. No use (yet). I believe that the Russians have secured much of the chemical WMD's, mainly to keep them out of the hands of one of the factions within the revolutionaries, mainly the AQ affiliated group Jabhat al-Nusra. During a battle near Aleppo, a Russian Special Forces group intervened and secured those weapons, which comprise a major part of Assad's chemical arsenal. But Assad likely has more. I don't think he will use them. As Obama said, the world is watching. I don't think Obama will do anything, as he is relying on Russia and Israel to intervene.
There is also a plan being worked on to end the Syrian conflict. A transitional government would rule the country for a couple of years and then a presidential election. Assad will not be in the country to run by then. He will be running his medical practice in Tehran.
I think Egypt remains the bigger concern. The Brotherhood is a clever, Islamist, political organization that wants to rule the entire Middle East. I am certain they have their hands in Syria, waiting for their chance like in Egypt, to take over.
Good point, Lar.
I'm going along with Israeli intelligence but note that the article reads "doubt" so nothing concrete.
No matter the outcome, thinking that it will be very unlikely that the world will ever know entire truth to this horrible war.
Israel "doubts" because in the ME nothing is sure.
No one really knows if Syria has any chemical weapons, least of all the MOSSAD. It was the MOSSAD that claimed Iraq had chemical weapons, according to Shlomo Brom, a retired Israeli general.
Brom told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday that "Israeli
intelligence was a full partner with the United States and Britain in
developing a false picture of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction
capability."
He said Israeli intelligence "badly overestimated the Iraqi threat to Israel
and reinforced the American and British belief that the weapons existed."
Brom said the Israeli assessment may have been influenced by politics. "Israel
has no reason to regret the outcome of the war in Iraq," he wrote, noting
Saddam was an implacable enemy.
Brom ended his 25-year military career in 1998. Career officers in Israel
traditionally maintain close ties with military colleagues after their
retirement.
Reading all the Zionist descriptions of Hamas and Hezbollah being compared with al-Qaeda and as terrorist organizations is a joke. Hamas is composed of Palestinians and Hezbollah is composed of Lebanese citizens. Neither entity is controlled in any way by outside forces. They are offered limited support by Iran and Syria, but no one pulls their strings. They are dedicated to keeping Israel out of their lands, which is a noble endeavor, as Israel does not belong in any territory.
Ralph
Unlike Nukes, Chemical WMD's don't require extensive facilities to produce and don't have a very large footprint and because of that are not easily tracked. I think there does exist chemical WMD's in Syria as Russia has moved in to secure them.
Iraq did have chemical WMD's and used them. Shlomo and the world knew that. It was the nuclear WMD's that were not found, but that was because Saddam expressly mislead the world to falsely show Iran he was more powerful.
Sunni Hamas and Shi'ite Hezbollah both have a focus on eliminating Israel which unites the two terrorist organizations. But they both, especially Shi'ite Hezbollah have no compunction about attacking all Westerners. The Beirut attack as an example.
And they are both supplied by Iran to carry out what ever Iran wants. I will add that I opine that Muslim Brotherhood lead Egypt is already supplying Hamas to carryout their terrorist activities. The Brotherhood created Hamas.
How about that, an article with Israel involved and Ralph Hamas/Hezbollah has something to say, I never see him comment unless it is about Israel. Get back in your tent and go kiss your camel.
Lar , actually , NBC weapons are very easily identified & very easily traced . First , look for signs of life , in any area . If birds cats or dogs are dying/dead (or people ) on ground , more than likely a chemical agent . Standard treatment is atropine injections ,,,, or use to be. If its nuclear , this is little more easily identified , unless a dirty bomb. Still , is easily identifiable . Even more traceable now , are bio , due to dna analsys , we can even track these.Treatment for all of these vary as well as preventative measures. As for a chemical attack , i seriously doubt it , remember the scenes from sadam huseins attack on the kurdish north? If it had been any type of chemical , the deaths would have been much more serious. As to a feeling out , it doesnt make sense. For assad to think , im going to send a small barely toxic chemical bomb & kill a handfull of ppl & maybe have UN or any group would be vindicated for the killing of assad & takeover of syria. It dont make sense. It was more than likely a type of tear gas & rebels seen a propoganda strategy.
""We have seen reports from the opposition. It is not the first time. The opposition has an interest in drawing in international military intervention," Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon said on Army Radio."
It is better for Israel to forget about Syria and Iran for some time.
We should permit seventh century desert one-way street bigoted Sunnis to fight tenth century bigoted Shiites as long as they want!
More they kill each other, better it will be. It will be lesser liabilities and curses on earth.
Let us see whose Allah wins!
Against us (infidels including Jews) they will all join hands.
Jewish lobby also should see to it that sanctions on Iranian oil is removed and oil prices crashe to normal levels of around $40 as in 2009.
This will weaken the most dangerous barbaric, beastly and bigoted Sunni rulers of House of Saud, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait and other oil rich ME rulers. They are fountainheads of Islamic extremism, hating and killing all over the world.
Crash of oil prices will also reduce our economic miseries.
However Israel has the biggest threat from the Sunni extremism of Saudi Arabian brand like Muslim Bloodhounds, Salaffi and others in Egypt.
Qatar, Turkey, Egypt and other Muslim rulers all joined hands with Hamas against Isreal recently.
Don't permit that seventh century bigoted barbarian Morsi and his Sunni hating and killing fronts to survive in Egypt.
Jonathan
Good points. The Brotherhood is a major problem and concern of The Israelis and I don't get the impression our Administration understands that. Syria will deteriorate and there will be struggles over who takes over when Assad is gone. I think the Israelis, Russia and the US have a plan in place but they can't control the people's selection of who takes over. Islamics make poor choices in elections (Gaza, Egypt). Again it is another opportunity for the Brotherhood or their surrogates.
Lar: Thanks.
I should not talk much about the normal policy of fighting enemies: divide and rule. One should not permit enemies to guess how you plan to battle them.
If they battle each other, nothing better than that. So I wish Assad stays in power form some years killing Sunni Syrian rebels!!!
Jonathan
What is interesting about your comment is that people in the US are not willing to accept that what may be bad for the people of a Middle East country may be good for the US. Mubarak was a good ally for the US but evolved into a brutal dictator. Assad has been oppressive to his people who are not in his tribe, but has been the "enemy that we know". Bahrain still provides the US with a naval base, but the majority of people hate their leadership.
Well said Jonathan, I don't think you are revealing any secret strategy, this is very obvious to anyone with a little common sense and a little historical knowledge. Israel doesn't tell us what they are really up to, they are much smarter than that, remember stuxnet. What Mossad is really doing will be classified for decades if not centuries, once they reveal a tactic they cant use it again. I am pretty sure if Israel says chemical weapons have not been used, they haven't.
Bullsh-.
Dunno why there is a media blackout but blister agents were used on rebels weeks ago.
where did u hear that?
Barack had average grades at Columbia yet got accepted to Harvard and was placed in a prominent position.
Saudi/OPEC oil money paid Barack's way into Harvard.
Harvard doesn't normally allow in students with average grades.
In the Shiite/Sunni conflict, Barack goes Sunni every time.
When offered a $5,000,00.00 charitable donation to unseal his school transcripts Barack declined the money.
I guess he doesn't care about helping the needy.
Money, oil companies and lobbyists play a decisive part in the US decision making!
Or else why there are sanctions on Iranian oil jacking up oil prices from $40 in 2009 to more than $110 now? Iran can always get nukes from Pakis.
Did ya'll get new tinfoil hats for xnas? They appear to need tuning.
McGusto
I am not an Obama fan, but I question your facts on him getting into Harvard. When you refer to Saudi money, are you talking of the oil money or royalty (or both) or factions within Saudi Arabia?
I think Obama's failures in the Middle East are due to lack of experience and liberalism, not any allegiance to one of the Islamic tribes. If it wasn't for Hillary's mild successes, the Middle East foreign policy would be in complete shambles.
Would like to know where you get the info about the Saudi money putting him thru college. Why would any country pay for college for an unknown student( from thousands of students) who at that time probably had no political ambitions. How could they possibly know he would ever run for Pres, let alone ever be elected. And why should he have taken Trump up on that assinine offer? NO Pres in hi9story has ever been asked to reveal thier school records, OR thier birth certificate. Why only Obama? Just can't beat good conspiracy theorys I guess.
Littlelizard- Got some time to kill before the movie Lets be Miserable, I forgot the fellows name but I believe he was a Hollywood mogul who made a multi million dollar bet with someone he could "make" a President. Enter Ronald Reagan. Who knows who is betting on what horse? Could be urban legend, could be true. Do you think my wife will be offended if I bring a pillow? Hope I am wrong.
Stonepipe They sing almost every word. Drives me crazy. Drink a lot of coke, .......or don't, just sleep.
Good day Lar, thanks for the heads up. Santa gave me hearing "muffs" for lack of a better word. Do you think anyone will notice? I will hopefully be able to watch out of my one good eye. Have a good one!
McGusto, repeat after me "I am a dickhead" and say it over and over again. By the way Barak want to know how is ass taste.
MusicianbyNight
I am confused with your "Islamic Brotherhood" I think you mean Muslim Brotherhood. I disagree with Obama showing Sunni support. He is not Muslim and certainly not Sunni Muslim. I am not an Obama fan but he is my president and we did not elect a Sunni Muslim. Just because his father came from Muslim land, and may have been a Sunni doesn't mean that he is. I will criticize many of policies but he believes what he does is for the good of the country.
Stonepipe2
I hope you had a good nap. See Argo, it was a good movie, just a little over dramatized.
Lar-caught it when it came out,agree. LBM was in my opinion about two hours too long. Otherwise it was o.k.
Israel is a state that has been proven a liar multiple times. They serve only their own interests always, everything they say and do must be looked at with suspicion. They are just as culpable in the mid east conflict as any other party. The US needs to cut them off and leave them to the fate they created for themselves.
Booniea
The US receives huge intelligence and huge scientific/medical advances from Israel. Israel receives huge financial resources from the US. But Israel has gone on it's own against it's enemies many times (1948, 67) without US aid.
They live in The Middle East, a sliver of a nation, surrounded by countries and groups who want nothing but the destruction of Israel. They have negotiated with and given land back (Sinai, Gaza) to their enemies after winning wars. They have to watch out for themselves.
They have made several mistakes in their relationship with the US(Liberty, Pollard), but have investigated and apologized for error.
If you seek perfection from them,or any other nation in their situation(which there aren't any) than your opinion is valid. But you have to understand reality.
Israel has been a proven liar many times? Really? Gee how interesting considering you live in a country that has lied it's way into oblivion.Oh for example the WMDs that lead us into a USELESS WAR in Iraq.Oh and then there was the 9/11 BS Farse in which 3,000 people were murdered, and this exulted government said it was done by Al CIA Aida/Alqaida. When all the time it was your exulted criminal government who SET IT UP,just for an Excuse to go into Afghanistan.There was lots a money to be made in them thar hills.So why not blow a couple of buildings and KILL 3,000 people,right in the heart of New York City.Think that's a Conspiracy Theory? Well think again because more and more evidence is starting to point right in that direction I'm talking about!
Then to add insult to injury,and make the lie even bigger your exulted criminal government now SUPPORTS Alqaida( an organization founded by your government's CIA back in 1979,in of all places AFGHANISTAN! It was and still is being supported in Libya,and now Syria,those so called freedom fighters,many not from Syria at all.
Then there was the Murder of that Diplomat in Benghazi Libya.You know the incident that your criminal government is back paddling from? By the way the man was murdered to Shut Him Up about importing weapons to Alqaida by your exulted criminal government.He didn't want to do it anymore.
Yeees Sir Ree your government has never lied to you.Now you have one of the Grand Daddy Liars of them all, in the History of this country Obama,or as I and many others call him Obummer,and gullible people such as yourself,hanging and believing on every word he says.
So I'm not saying Israel is perfect,far from it.However before you start shooting off farts about what Liars they are,I think you better do some real hard homework about your own country.Because the government in place for the last 30 years in this country is so Corrupt and Criminal,they make Israel look like Boy Scouts!
You mean the reality that they spie on us? The reality they have conspired to assasinate US officials? You mean the reality that they commited an act of war against the US, lied about it and continue to call us soldiers liars to this day? Or the fact they have done bothing to stop the acts of hundreds of jewish extremists in destorying US funding building efforts in the region etc?
Your reality requires I be as corrupt as Israel, your reality comes from satan.
Byt the way moron, show me where I have ever cut the US slack on the evil it has commited, here;s a hint you won;t. But you just proved how dishionest you are by your assumptions.
Hey booneia go out and get drunk! You'll make more sense.
Prove it? Here's a hint, you said, and I quote, in your first post what the US needs to do,by cutting them off.So there ya go boon boy,looks like you're cutting them some slack by advising on what they need to do.
Now go get Blitzed! It's New Years!
Show you,where you cut the US some slack.Hell I'll be glad to show you.
Your words boon boy,and I quote,the US needs to cut them off.That's giving advice as to what the US needs to do with Israel.So boon boy by giving that kind of suggestion and advice about the US,you're cutting it Slack.
Looks like I got you by the nuts on that one!
Other wise you would of said,NOTHING!
Anywho 2 posts or not you get message!
boon, you're just a antagonistic jerk. You are the one making assumptions and drawing false conclusions. Pull your head out of the dark side.
sounds to me like we have some tea baggin neocons still whining because their prostitute didn't get in the whitehouse.
here's a hint for all you so called "christians" I've now met 3 christian families who fled Israel because they're lives were being threatened by Jewish extremists.
My uncle was on the Liberty you pathetic sniveling little fork tongued satan worshipping child molesters.
NBC will defend Islam every chance they get but rips Israel and the jews.
Hmmmm....
Riiight, and Israel is as innocoent as new born baby viper.
The whole "poison gas" claim is just to try to get the U.S. to win the war for them, so they can then install the extremist Islamist dictatorship then turn around and spit in our faces.
Kind of like Bush lied about weapons of mass destruction?
let those animals kill each other. I personally would unite with Russia and Iran and help Assad to linger even longer
why doesn't obama order a drone to kill the al-qaeda helper rebel guys in Syria?...........
is not that the war on terror we are fighting.........
oh another purpose is at hand..............
the Bell will toll
Israel and its Arab dictators buddies will be trash of history soon. The people are revolting for freedom and justice.
Skip your last ESL class for another Koran reading, Kat?
And you're right: the Muslims are revolting!
awesome rachel, I wish I could give you 2 checks for that one.
kat, I looked over some of your other posts, the zionazis, careful your burkah doesn't fall down and choke you.
anti, the kats of the world are more stupid than we are but, like cockroaches*, out-breed us--another sign of lack of civilization. They live in squalor and put up with tyrants because they are members of a death cult.
*I went to say "rats" but then I realized rats are pretty smart. Cockroaches survive by lightning raids on the kitchen at night, spreading disease and scurrying away when they hear the footsteps of anyone larger and smarter.
rachel, thats a little hard on the cockroaches don't you think.
They chant "We love America" now, but they will be chantiing "Death to America" once they have taken power.
I still remember them dancing in the streets on 9/11, never forget, never forgive
Are you refering to the 5 dancing Israelis who were celebrating their handiwork of planting nano thermite expolsives in the WTCs, causing all 3 to fall into their own footprints? Hell, Bldg 7 wasn't even hit, yet it fell straight down in 6.5 seconds after the owner, Larry Silverman said "pull it". "pull it" is the term used to pull down a building in a controlled demolition. Bldg 7 is the smoking gun, that shows 9/11 was an inside job.
Here are 2 links - one of the 5 dancing Israelis and one for bldg 7 falling. Enjoy!
http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/fiveisraelis.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A3dW_gUwOg
No one can watch this video and not conclude Bldg 7 was brought down in a controlled demolition. If one building was rigged, they all were rigged.
So? There was definite proof Saddam used chemical weapons against the Kurds but the world stood by--and then condemned us for taking him out. Especially the Muslim world.
your hypocracy and lies are condemned, You sent him bags of money and loads of weapons when he used them. You took him out some 15 years after,when he disobeyed, with pure lies and fabrications of WMD evidence.
Kat, I was in Desert Storm and Hussein had plenty WMD"s, and RPG rounds filled with Mustard Agent. Only an IDIOT would think that Hussein happily eliminated his stockpile of weapons. Most likely any chemical weapons that Syria has, are a result of Hussein sending them ther for storage.
Bill , sadam didnt have wmd's after the inspections & our intelligence knew it . I remember cheney coming on stating that we had satelite & arial film of sadam moving weapons out (truck traffic) of sites that were to be inspected next. I remember thinking , if we see these trucks leaving , why wouldnt we follow & then go to where the supposed weapons were moved to. We never found any wmd's in iraq. Yes , we knew he HAD them at one time , courtesy of USA in large part. Im not a repub or demmy.
The rebels will do anything to get the US involved.
The US should do everything NOT to get involved.
They have their brother, the Arab ( vicious) league .
We should not get involved in a family matters.
They are one big family of brothers.
The terrorist Muslims that are trying to manipulate the west into believing Assad is using gas are all liars and have one goal, that being a Muslim Brotherhood run government controlled by extremeists and terrorists! The USA and ALL other countries should keep their noses out of this civil war and let Russia go to the aid of their friend Assad and shut down this terrorist network and give the Muslim Radical Brotherhood a blow they will not recover from. We screwed up in Lybia and Egypt we had better not screw up on this one. The problem is we have a Socialist Muslim for a President that is a liar and terrorist himself!
Stevephoenix: It is so obvious yet few seem to recognize the underlying Muslim influence. My bet is on POTUS stepping in to assure muslim dominance, as he did in Egypt and Lybia.
Obama sucks.
No you have him confused with your Mother and your Wife. you phucking moron!
Dagan, pay attention to the newsvine terms of use. You have been reported.
Dagan your a loser. You have a anger problem. Go get some help.
Like dead muslims are a bad thing? The more that die now, the fewer we will be fighting later.
Spoken like a True NRA Phucktard azzhole!
Really? Is that the only way you can express yourself Dagan?
Reporting you again.
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Because of the timidity of U.S. and European allies when it comes to getting involved in the "Arab Spring", the "Arab Spring" is rapidly turning into the "Arab Fall" as Islamic radical groups fill the vacuum left by these cringing democratic powers. This was really an extremely rare moment which we dared not pass up, if only by jointly supplying democratic freedom fighters with the help of the Arab League. What a shame! - RC
(This was really mankind's last chance to head off World War III. You can start bending over now to kiss your not so sweet arses goodbye.) - RC
I'm afraid that you are right. I don't believe that the US as we know it will exist 3 or 4 years from now.
Let Assad use whatever weapons against his own people. Let him destroy Syria which eventually would be destroyed by civil war. Assad days are numbered. Syria's destruction would be Israel's gain. Iran would lose an ally and its influence would wane in that part of the world. Israel should not worry about these Muslim terrorist gaining power in Syria. These Muslim bastards would be busy killing each other. Map of the Middle-East has to be changed. Israel should enjoy the smoke which is coming out of Syria because behind every smoke there is a fire and all fire eventually turns into ashes. Israel will be safe and secure from Syria because there would be no Syria but only ashes. We have to plan now to destroy Egypt and keep Israel safe for ever. Security of Israel should be our main goal.
There have been doubts in the US that Assad used any gas on the rebels. The Israeli intelligence confirms that fact. The islamists rebels are trying to get the US involved in their war. We must stay away from their conflict. We have a good track record of getting things screwed up by getting involved in the ME. See Iran and Egypt.
I hope that Israeli intelligence is right on this one. They can't afford to be wrong. The lives of too many people are involved. Chemical warfare can cause casualties on a massive scale. There is no room for doubt or guess work. There's too much at stake.
Dead Islamic terrorists is a good thing, I really don't care how they get there. I have a lot of faith in Israeli Intelligence.
They are smart, all ready play another game whit their cards, DON'T TRUST in them !
Regardless of all the hate and politics involved..can anyone on the planet do a post mortem and see if they died from "poison" ? before the media makes a bigger war of it all.
..or is a little truth with facts too much to ask here.
If you could sneak into Syria, find out where they were buried (if they were buried), collect tissue samples and bring them to an independent lab for testing, I'm sure a lot of people would be interested in the results.
Or you could ask the Syrians nicely if they'll do it. What do you thing the odds of that are?
It's not as easy as you seem to think.
Western allies are not going to do any thing w/o the US. the US is not going to do any thing w/o the say so from the White House. in dealing with the Muslims, Barry has shown as much leadership as a snail. after all that would involve killing muslims (of which he is one), so it will never happen. Iraq and Afghanistan were started by Bush, Barry got out as soon as he could. he is going to do nothing in Syria as long as Assad does not use WMD's. if he does he will leave it upto the UN to do some thing. the UN won't do any thing because Russia and China will veto any action. so it will be left upto Israel to eliminate Syria's WMD's, and Israel will hesitate checking with DC to see if the US will support their action. then we will go through the Washinton three step to decide to do nothing. that is what you get with a Dem, black, muslim in the Oval office.