Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

U.S. Air Force will Also Target Syria’s Air Force, Ballistic Missiles and Sections of Its Air Defenses
Sep 7th, 2013
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The reports coming out of Washington in the last 24 hours indicate that US President Barack Obama has resolved not just to degrade Syria’s chemical capabilities but also to take down Bashar Assad’s air force, destroy his air bases and knock out his ground-to-ground ballistic missiles, using giant B-52 bombers and B-2 stealth bombers. Some of the bombers will fly in directly from the US; others from the Al Udeid base in Qatar. F-22 Raptor fighter-bombers are also scheduled to take part in the US air offensive.
Obama decided to expand the scope of the US operation for Assad’s use of chemical warfare against civilians on Aug. 21, when his experts advised him that these additional blows would dramatically diminish the Syrianj ruler's military edge over rebel forces without toppling him. These air raids could moreover be conducted from afar without American aircraft coming within range of Syrian air defense batteries.

The US operation will also target the Syrian army’s 4^th and Republican Guard divisions, protectors of the Assad presidency and regime, which were responsible for using chemical weapons, but not the weapons themselves. debkafile’s military sources say they can’t be destroyed by air assault - only by ground forces, which the US president has ruled out in advance.

It was that conclusion which led Washington to considering air strikes for taking down the ballistic missiles, which may be used as the vehicles for delivering the poison gases both within Syria and beyond its borders.
This expanded inventory of targets portends a broader operation in scope than Obama’s first plan, which was designed only to caution the Syrian ruler of his peril for engaging in chemical warfare. The extensions to this plan would go a lot further than a deterrent warning and seriously downgrade his military and strategic capabilities.
Russia and Iran are already getting set to replenish by air and sea the losses the US air and missile offensive is expected to inflict on the Syria military.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and ambassador to the UN Samantha Power stressed in the last few hours that the US felt fully justified in going forward against Syria’s use of chemical weapons without a UN mandate and, indeed, they indicated, the president would consider such action “the right thing to do” even if US Congress withheld its support.
For now, Obama will be spending all his time on a blitz to win lawmakers round to the strike against Syria, while Kerry seeks European and Arab partners for the operation, in addition to France which has already come forward.

Obama Making Little Headway With Getting Congress to Support Attack on Syria
Sep 7th, 2013
Daily NewsWashington Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Nearly a week into President Obama’s campaign to convince Congress that airstrikes against Syria are necessary, he has achieved little headway against a wall of skepticism on Capitol Hill.

The president’s challenge is made more difficult by the fact that the two parties are splintered on the issue — and that lawmakers say they are hearing virtually no support for an attack from their constituents at home.

Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), a libertarian who has taken on GOP hawks on National Security Agency surveillance and now Syria, tweeted Thursday: “If you’re voting yes on military action in #Syria, might as well start cleaning out your office. Unprecedented level of public opposition.”

Democrats are torn between their fear of crippling a Democratic president with a “no” vote and their anxiety that they might be repeating the mistakes of recent history in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

For Republicans, the debate over striking Syria has reopened a long-standing schism between the GOP’s internationalist and non-interventionist wings at a moment when the party is struggling to reinvent itself. The vote will be a test of some of the party’s possible 2016 presidential contenders, who until now have had the luxury of standing on the sidelines and criticizing Obama on foreign policy.

Given the dissent within their ranks, even the most influential of those who back the operation are showing little enthusiasm for urging their colleagues to come aboard.

In the House — where prospects for approval appear dimmer than they do in the Senate — Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) have said they favor strikes but will not pressure other members on what they consider a “conscience vote.”

On the Democratic side, “I’m not exactly leading the charge,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told Time magazine. “But I’m supporting the president.”

On all sides, uncertainty remains over what would be achieved by attacking Syria over its alleged use of chemical weapons.

Lawmakers remain unconvinced that limited strikes proposed by Obama would shift the balance in a bloody civil war that appears tipped in favor of President Bashar al-Assad’s government. Or whether that is, in fact, what is desired.

“In order to justify action now against his regime and risk further escalating the conflict, the president must clearly identify what our national security interests are,” said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), who heads a House Foreign Affairs Committee panel on the Middle East.

Let the Headlines Speak
Sep 7th, 2013
Daily NewsFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Strong Earthquake Strikes Guatemala
A 6.6 magnitude earthquake near Guatemala's border with Mexico has destroyed several homes and caused blackouts. The tremor was one of the strongest in Guatemala since a 7.4 magnitude earthquake last November killed 44 people in the west of the country.  

Russia sends four more warships to eastern Mediterranean near Syria
The Russian navy has sent four more ships to the eastern Mediterranean, near the Syrian coast, as the United States considers launching a military offensive against the Arab country.  

6.5-magnitude quake strikes off Guatemala's coast
A 6.5-magnitude earthquake shook Guatemala's Pacific coastline on Friday evening, causing some adobe homes to collapse in a town near the epicenter. There were no immediate reports of injuries.  

US Congress Finds ‘Overwhelming’ Public Opposition to Force in Syria
After three days of non-stop phone calls from hundreds of Colorado constituents opposed to a US military strike on Syria, Rep. Doug Lamborn announced Friday he was “leaning against” a resolution giving US President Barack Obama the authority to take limited action.  

U.K. Toys ‘R’ Us Going Gender Neutral
Toys “R” Us, a retail giant in the toy industry, bowed to pressure from U.K.-based lobbying group Let Toys Be Toys and will now market its products in a “gender-neutral” fashion within the U.K. Not only will advertisements eventually depict both boys and girls playing with the same toys—everything from guns to dolls to kitchen sets—Toys “R” Us stores will also be removing any explicit references to gender within their stores.  

PA minister: Next prisoners' release in October
Palestinian Minister of Prisoner Affairs Issa Karaka said that the next Palestinian prisoners’ release as past of the peace talks’ resumption will take place on October 29. According to Karaka, the next group of prisoners will be released regardless of diplomatic progress of the talks, adding that the prisoners will only be released to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.  

NSA decryption revelations 'provide roadmap' to adversaries, US warns
The Obama administration has responded to revelations on the NSA's successes in defeating online security and privacy published on Thursday by the Guardian, New York Times and ProPublica. In a statement issued on Friday, the office of the director of national intelligence (ODNI)...suggested the stories, ...published on the front pages of the New York Times and Guardian, were "not news", but nonetheless provided a "road map…to our adversaries".  

Morsi Backers Terrorize Christians in Egyptian Town
While the United Nations worries about a local shooting in Florida, in Egypt a group of Islamists who back their nation's ousted leader, fellow Islamist Mohammed Morsi, have taken over the town of Dalga where 20,000 Christians now live under oppression, fear, and violence. Already, a 1600-year-old monastery has been burned and looted, and 40 Christian homes and businesses have been attacked (looted and burned), including the home of an 80 year-old priest...  

Putin warns Russia could come to Syria's aid over US strike
...Putin escalated concerns about the fallout from any strike when he indicated in an interview published Wednesday that his country could send Syria and its neighbors in the region the components of a missile shield if the U.S. attacks. U.S. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified this week that the Russians might even replace any military assets the U.S. destroys in a strike.  

Syria crisis: US orders non-emergency personnel out of Lebanon
The US state department has ordered non-emergency US personnel to leave Lebanon and has approved voluntary evacuation from southern Turkey. The state department cited "current tensions the region" but did not specifically mention Syria. The department also warned US citizens travelling in the two countries to remain alert to potential danger.  

Greece PM sees end to recession in Thessaloniki speech
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras says the country's six years of recession will end next year. He said that Greece was now an "island of stability" in an ever less stable region. Mr Samaras was speaking at the Thessaloniki trade fair, which has been the scene of protests about the country's tough austerity measures.  

Obama tells US nation Syria 'not another Iraq or Afghanistan'
President Barack Obama told his war-weary country on Saturday that America needs to use limited military force in Syria to deter future chemical weapons attacks, but said he did not want to enter into another costly and protracted war. "This would not be another Iraq or Afghanistan," Obama said in his weekly radio and internet address, previewing arguments he will make in a nationally televised address on Tuesday.