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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: bentway who wrote (713703)5/7/2013 9:33:33 AM
From: joseffy  Respond to of 1576265
 
Pour out your raw Jew-Hate, bentway.



To: bentway who wrote (713703)5/7/2013 9:34:53 AM
From: joseffy  Respond to of 1576265
 
Jew-Hater bentway says Israel gets 'half our foreign aid budget. "

Jew-Hater bentway LIES.



To: bentway who wrote (713703)5/7/2013 9:54:40 AM
From: joseffy  Respond to of 1576265
 
Israel now confronting the nightmare scenario of loose Syrian gas bombs
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Matt Gurney | 13/05/06 | Last Updated:13/05/06 12:31 PM ET


In recent weeks, multiple nations have concluded that Syrian military forces have used chemical weapons, specifically the nerve gas sarin. .

But there are now reports from UN inspectors in the region that rebel forces have also used sarin against the regime. If true, that is, to say the least, a complication.

Despite token efforts to establish centralized leadership, the rebels are really a disparate force. They have a common enemy, but that’s about it. We can’t say which group obtained sarin, or what they hoped to accomplish by using it. And whichever faction has obtained chemical weapons is as likely to use it against their fellow rebels as the regime.

Related UN says there are strong suspicions Syria’s rebels have used chemical weapons George F. Will: Obama has talked himself into a corner on Syria Matt Gurney: Obama to Syria: You can use a little sarin, but not a lot. OK?
Until now, Syria was thought to have been responsible in its handling of its chemical arsenal. A few months ago, U.S. intelligence sources observed large-scale movements of chemical weapons in Syria. Rather than provoking alarm, it was actually a reassuring sign: U.S. intelligence concluded that the regime was moving its stockpiles into more centralized, well defended areas that it could do a better job of securing. This was seen as a sign that the regime was being a responsible actor and behaving rationally.

Even once reports began to emerge that the regime was using the weapons, again, there were signs of moderation. Syria did not want to compel the U.S. to honour President Barack Obama’s stated “red line” on chemical weapons use, so it used just a little gas. And then a little more. It gambled that the U.S. would look at that and conclude that it wasn’t worth getting involved in the conflict over the odd artillery shell full of gas exploding over some rebel fighting group. And it won.

Even in using chemical weapons, in other words, Syria has shown that it remains a generally rational regime. It has not had a reflexive “spasm” in which emotionally drained leaders settle on an apocalyptic solution to the stalemate. That is, for the purposes of the West, good news. It means the people with their finger on the trigger haven’t lost their cool. Yet.

But all that changes when we start talking about rebel groups using weapons of mass destruction. They’re too random to be predictable, and too unknown to be deemed rational.

It’s a dog’s breakfast of plotting and scenarios. And it’s the nightmare scenario for Israel

The best case scenario is that a group of rebels captured some regime chemical weapons and immediately used them. A more dangerous option is that one or more rebel factions somehow captured a large quantity of nerve gas and still has some. This could enable a chemical free-for-all as both sides launch strikes and counter-strikes, with millions of civilians caught in the middle.

But arguably the worst-case scenario is that an entire unit of the Syrian military, armed with chemical weapons, has turned against the regime and gone rogue. This would put sarin into skilled hands with unknown agendas. It would also call into question the reliability of Syria’s remaining chemical weapons units. If those men still loyal to the regime suspect that they might be viewed with suspicion by their commanders, they may choose to make a break for it while they still can.

It’s a dog’s breakfast of plotting and scenarios. And it’s the nightmare scenario for Israel, which knows that they’re a prime target of just about every faction that has sarin or may soon obtain it.

Israel can deter the Syrian regime. It can communicate with it, or fight it, if necessary. But not even Israel’s military and intelligence assets can keep track of all the gas if the situation begins to totally collapse and the chemical weapons are up for grabs.

Israel has already shown with its raids on the weekend that it’s prepared to get involved in Syria when it feels its interests are threatened. If the rebel groups are indeed now armed with chemical weapons, Israel may soon have cause to intervene again, and in a big way — if Israel thinks the weapons may soon be lost forever, it may choose to hit them while they’re (mostly) still in one place.