Syria Today: Will the US Take Military Action? / WATCH VIDEO’S & PICTURES

Regime Media “Terrorists Had Chemical Agents”

August 24th, 2013 | by Joanna Paraszczuk, Scott Lucas  –  EA worldview – We began Friday with the observation that the Obama Administration was “sitting on its hands” over Wednesday’s regime attacks near Damascus, including with chemical weapons, that killed at least 1,360 people. Obama reinforced that with his first statement on the event, telling CNN: Sometimes what we’ve seen is that folks will call for immediate action, jumping into stuff, that does not turn out well, gets us mired in very difficult situations, can result in us being drawn into very expensive, difficult, costly interventions that actually breed more resentment in the region.

See Syria Analysis: Is Obama Ruling Out US Intervention — or Covering for a Possible Airstrike?

However, some US officials told a contrasting story to the Wall Street Journal that contingency planning was under way for US airstrikes, including updates of target lists in Syria with government and military installations. Reuters was also told that options were being considered, such as cruise missile attacks from the sea.

Later Friday, another signal from officials: CBS News reported that US intelligence services had “detected activity” at Syrian chemical weapons sites before Wednesday’s attack, although at the time they believed it was just movement of stocks.

The significance of that leak is that it establishes a cause for US action, even if the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime cannot be established because of a lack of access to the attack sites.

On Saturday, we get another signal: a defense official has said that the U.S Navy will expand its presence in the Mediterranean with a fourth warship, the USS Mahan from the U.S. Sixth Fleet, armed with cruise missiles. So are all these signals just expressions of discontent from officials unhappy with the lack of American response? Are they just expressions of possibility, while not pointing to any decision for action? Or could the Obama Administration, behind its public declaration of caution and non-intervention, be preparing for its first significant public military operation since the Syrian conflict began?

Regime Targeting Ariha, Idlib With Air, Helicopter Strikes

There are reports that the Assad regime is targeting Ariha in Idlib Province with airstrikes and helicopter strikes after insurgents captured at least part of the city.

This footage, purportedly from Ariha, shows a helicopter attack on the city. Activists say the regime has dropped TNT filled barrels on Ariha, injuring civilians.

There are unconfirmed reports, including from the Shaam News Network, that the FSA has overrun regime checkpoints at the southern and western entrances of the Ariha, and seized regime weapons and ammunition there.

There are also reports that the regime is striking areas around Jabal Al Zawiha near Ariha, including this footage of an airstrike on Saturday morning:

Regime Media “Terrorists Had Chemical Agents”

Syrian State TV is pressing the line that insurgents carried out any chemical weapons attack near Damascus on Wednesday, declaring that the Syrian military “entered the terrorists’ tunnels and saw chemical agents” in an operation in the Jobar section of the capital. The outlet claimed, “In some cases, soldiers started suffocating while entering Jobar. Ambulances came to rescue the people who were suffocating.”

State news agency SANA tweeted:

SANA is not putting out this line through its website, however — that has been down since early this morning.

Video: Activists Distribute Leaflets In Damascus Calling For Civilians To Support Chemical Attack Victims

Activists say they have distributed thousands of leaflets in suburbs around Damascus, including Al Mezzah, Al Mouhajrin, Ruken Al Din , Al Jisr Al Abid, and Afif that call on Syrians to mobilize in support of the victims of the chemical weapons attacks in East and West Ghouta.

The leaflets call on residents to provide material, medical and relief aid to the victims of the attacks, and to establish campaigns to denounce the “criminal act” including mass media campaigns encouraging donations of food and medicine to them the victims.

Two Reports on Wednesday’s Regime Attacks

Two detailed reports have been published on the regime attacks near Damascus which killed at least 1,360 people.

The Violations Documentation Center, which EA uses on a daily basis for a casualty count, has documented the areas hit by the rockets early Wednesday morning.

The US-based Syria Support Group has provided witness accounts and a full breakdown of casualties.

Videos: Regime Warplanes, Artillery Continue To Pound Areas Hit In Wednesday’s Attacks

The Assad regime continues its offensive against the Damascus suburbs in East and West Ghouta hit by Wednesday’s chemical weapons attacks.

An air raid on Jobar on Saturday morning: This footage from Friday shows panic among civilians in Irbeen as airstrikes hit the town: Another video showing an enormous cloud of smoke rising the moment the airstrike hits Irbeen.

Victims of Chemical Weapons Attack Smuggled to Jordan for Tests

The Guardian reports that at least three victims of the chemical weapons attack near Damascus on Wednesday have been smuggled to Jordan, where samples of their blood and urine will help determine which agent was used.

Sources in insurgent-held area said a network of defectors, some of whom had fled the Syrian military’s chemical warfare division, were helping to smuggle biological samples from the scenes of the attack to Jordan.

The samples include biopsies of livers and spleens from fatalities, as well as blood and urine from survivors.

Video: More Footage Points to Chemical Attacks on Wednesday

Footage shown by Britain’s ITV News adds further evidence for the likelihood of chemical attacks by the Syrian military on Wednesday near Damascus.

A survivor says, “The next morning we discovered all families dead in their homes. [I] just opened the door [to] see the whole family killed in place with foam in their mouths and eyes together with blood in their ears.”

Opposition activists said on Friday that a number of people who gave medical help to victims, including doctors, also died from exposure to chemicals.

About the Author : Joanna Paraszczuk, Scott Lucas Joanna Paraszczuk is EA WorldView’s Managing Editor. An Israeli journalist, she covered Iran and the Arab World for The Jerusalem Post. Previously, she lived and worked in Russia and Ukraine. Joanna speaks fluent Hebrew and Russian and reads Persian and Arabic.

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