U.S. preps for possible cruise missile attack on Syrian gov't forces

Benjamin Sisko

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(CBS News) WASHINGTON - CBS News has learned that the Pentagon is making the initial preparations for a cruise missile attack on Syrian government forces. We say "initial preparations" because such an attack won't happen until the president gives the green light. And it was clear during an interview on CNN Friday that he is not there yet.

"If the U.S. goes in and attacks another country, without a U.N. mandate and without clear evidence that can be presented," the president told CNN, "then there are questions in terms of whether international law supports it -- 'do we have the coalition to make it work?' Those are considerations that we have to take into account."

130823-Syria-alleged_poison_gas_attack_620x350.jpg

An attack on suburbs in Damascus suburbs has left hundreds dead. Poison gas used is suspected.

/ CBS News
The attack on the Damascus suburbs, which left hundreds dead this week, is looking more and more like a poison gas was used. The United States warned Syria months ago that using chemical weapons could provoke a U.S. response.

U.S. detected activity at Syria chemical weapons sites before attack
Hundreds dead in Syria after alleged chemical weapons attack
Syria opposition group claims 1,300 killed in chemical attack in Damascus suburbs

President Obama's national security adviser, Susan Rice, sent out a Tweet on Friday, calling what happened "an apparent CW (chemical weapons) attack." And the commander of U.S. forces in the Mediterranean has ordered Navy warships to move closer to Syria to be ready for a possible cruise missile strike.

cruisemissile05_244x183.jpg

U.S. warships are moving closer to Syria for a possible cruise missile attack; but such an action has yet to be approved by President Obama

/ CBS
Launching cruise missiles from the sea would not risk any American lives. It would be a punitive strike designed not to topple Syrian dictator Bashir Assad but to convince him he cannot get away with using chemical weapons.

Watch a report on Syrian activists gathering evidence to prove chemical attack:

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey is expected to present options for a strike at a White House meeting on Saturday.

Potential targets include command bunkers and launchers used to fire chemical weapons.

However, officials stress President Obama, who until now has steadfastly resisted calls for military intervention, has not made a decision.

U.S. intelligence detected activity at known Syrian chemical weapons sites in the days before the attack. At the time that did not appear out of the ordinary. But now it is part of the circumstantial evidence pointing toward an attack.

The clearest evidence would come from a team of U.N. experts already in Damascus to investigate earlier, smaller scale incidents involving suspected chemical weapons. So far they have not been allowed into the field. But with pictures providing graphic evidence of mass casualties, even Russia -- long one of the Assad regime's staunchest backers -- is calling for a U.N. investigation.

Whatever an investigation finds, the president will also have to consider what he would do next if he ordered a strike and Syria continued to use chemical weapons.

Watch CBS News correspondent Holly Williams' report on the Syrian victims in the aftermath of the Damascus suburbs attack:





Meanwhile in Syria, two days after the alleged poison gas attack, more disturbing video has emerged of the aftermath. From it comes horrific scenes that show the dead and the dying -- many of them children.



One young boy described struggling to breathe and then losing consciousness. When he woke up in the hospital, he said, he could no longer see.

It's impossible to verify how many people died. But in a crowded, makeshift morgue, so many of the bodies were unidentified -- they were numbered.



Dr. Ghazwan Bwidany is caring for survivors of the attack at a clinic in Damascus. On Friday, CBS News spoke with him over the Internet. He said his mobile medical unit treated 900 people -- 70 of whom died.



"When you see these children," said Bwidany, "dying in front of our eyes, this is a very terrible feeling. I can't describe it."



Watch this video below of a Syrian mother saying goodbye to her children who were killed after reported gas attack:

Dr. Bwidany said some of the survivors have neurological problems, such as memory loss and confusion, that he believes could only be caused by a nerve agent.



So if this wasn't a chemical attack, what could it have been? "I don't know anything else that could make these symptoms, with this large number of injured," he said.

CBS News talked with a spokesman for the Syrian opposition Friday, who said he was angry and frustrated with the international community. He believes that if U.S. had delivered the arms it promised the opposition two months ago, the deadly attack may not have happened.

© 2013 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.




:patrice:
WWIII is gearing up. Iran already said, if the US directly attacks Syria, then they will attack the US. :lupe:
 

Orbital-Fetus

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wtf is Iran gonna do?

anyway, the middle east is completely fukked up...i have no idea what can be done by any party at this point.
 

Benjamin Sisko

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You would have to be a 14 year old girl to believe this.
wtf is Iran gonna do?

anyway, the middle east is completely fukked up...i have no idea what can be done by any party at this point.
As I said, the Supreme Leader has already stated if the US directly intervenes in Syria, Iran will retaliate by attacking US interests in the region.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/1...-us-israel-for-syria-civil-war-warns-against/

Which means they will block off the Strait of Hormuz, which will substantially raise the price of oil.

Which means if the US will retaliate by attacking Iran, both China and especially Russia had both stated that it is a threat to them and will even use nuclear force if the US attacks Iran. :lupe:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/17/us-g8-russia-idUSBRE84G18M20120517
 

Spidey Man

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As I said, the Supreme Leader has already stated if the US directly intervenes in Syria, Iran will retaliate by attacking US interests in the region.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/1...-us-israel-for-syria-civil-war-warns-against/

Which means they will block off the Strait of Hormuz, which will substantially raise the price of oil.

Which means if the US will retaliate by attacking Iran, both China and especially Russia had both stated that it is a threat to them and will even use nuclear force if the US attacks Iran. :lupe:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/17/us-g8-russia-idUSBRE84G18M20120517

Russia and China won't stand together to attack the U.S.

It's more likely that shyt happens in North Korea, and the Chinese and the U.S. get into a shooting war. Russia goes on high alert, makes noises about standing with China, and then attacks China while they are distracted. The Chinese have designs on Siberia's material wealth and thanks to Global Warming, it is easier to get to the buried treasure.
 

PewPew

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Here comes the drums of war. What I wonder is it ever enough? When will the u.s. actually be at a state of peace. We've been in a state of perpetual war for over ten years now
 

Kings County

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As I said, the Supreme Leader has already stated if the US directly intervenes in Syria, Iran will retaliate by attacking US interests in the region.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/1...-us-israel-for-syria-civil-war-warns-against/

Which means they will block off the Strait of Hormuz, which will substantially raise the price of oil.

Which means if the US will retaliate by attacking Iran, both China and especially Russia had both stated that it is a threat to them and will even use nuclear force if the US attacks Iran. :lupe:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/17/us-g8-russia-idUSBRE84G18M20120517
:duck: thats just big talk, none of these countries will fire a nuclear missle, firing a nuclear missle means everyone dies
 

Nefflum nigga

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ww3?

I doubt it

I just don't believe these countries would risk it. ww3 means the end of everything as we know it. nothing would be the same. :skip:
 
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