White House: Bukti terhadap Assad yang tidak ‘Melampaui keraguan munasabah’ tetapi ‘logik test’ . . .

Presiden Amerika Syarikat, Barack Obama (kiri) telah bertemu dengan kakitangan Keselamatan Negara di Pejabat Oval dalam gambar White House ini diambil pada 8 Mac, 2012 dan diperolehi pada 13 Jun 2013. (U.S. President Barack Obama (L) meets with National Security staff in the Oval Office in this White House photograph taken on March 8, 2012 and obtained on June 13, 2013. (Reuters/Pete Souza – think IN pictures @1WORLDCommunity)

MaliaJYy - White House: Bukti terhadap Assad yang tidak ‘Melampaui keraguan munasabah’ tetapi ‘logik test’ white House berkata ia tidak mempunyai bukti “tidak dapat disangkal” bahawa Presiden Syria Bashar Assad di belakang serangan gas Ogos di pinggir bandar Damsyik, tetapi bahawa “ujian logik yang kukuh tanpa mengira perisikan” mencadangkan kerajaan yang bertanggungjawab.

“Kami telah melihat bukti video hasil dari orang-orang yang serangan,” White House Ketua Turus Dennis McDonough memberitahu CNN, bercakap mengenai pelbagai klip yang menunjukkan mangsa serangan sarin yang disyaki di pinggir bandar Damsyik pada 21 Ogos.

“Semua yang membawa kepada ujian yang biasa-rasa agak kuat tanpa mengira perisikan yang mencadangkan bahawa rejim yang dijalankan ini. Sekarang kita mempunyai gambar atau adakah kita mempunyai bukti yang tidak dapat disangkal luar keraguan yang munasabah? Ini bukan satu mahkamah undang-undang dan kecerdasan tidak berfungsi cara itu, “katanya.

McDonough membuat penampilan pada terkemuka ‘talk show’ Amerika Syarikat dalam usaha untuk mendapatkan sokongan untuk tindakan ketenteraan yang dicadangkan terhadap Syria hadapan undi kongres minggu depan di mana kebanyakan ahli parlimen seolah-olah bertentangan dengan serangan yang diketuai.

Dalam temu bual dengan NBC, Ketua Turus menegaskan bahawa “tiada siapa yang ‘rebutting’ perisikan; tiada siapa yang ragu-ragu perisikan.”

Amerika Syarikat berkata ia telah dipintas perbualan yang melibatkan pegawai-pegawai Syria di mana mereka mengambil tanggungjawab untuk serangan itu. Walau bagaimanapun, Washington tidak membuat perbualan awam.

Pentadbiran Obama juga telah merujuk kepada satelit dan risikan isyarat, serta komunikasi tentera, sebagai bukti bahawa rejim telah bersedia untuk menggunakan gas beracun hanya beberapa hari sebelum serangan yang dikatakan telah berlaku.

Namun pentadbiran telah enggan untuk membenarkan orang ramai melihat bukti yang didakwa menghubungkan Assad kepada jenayah itu - walaupun jumlah yang cukup imej satelit telah dibebaskan lebih awal oleh Amerika Syarikat untuk menunjukkan akibat serangan oleh tentera rejim Syria.

White House: Evidence against Assad not ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ but passes ‘common-sense test’ The White House says it has no “irrefutable” evidence that Syrian President Bashar Assad was behind the August gas attack in a Damascus suburb, but that a “strong common-sense test irrespective of the intelligence” suggests the government is responsible.

"We've seen the video proof of the outcome of those attacks,” White House Chief of Staff Dennis McDonough told CNN, speaking of the multiple clips which show victims of the suspected sarin attack in a Damascus suburb on August 21.

“All of that leads to a quite strong common-sense test irrespective of the intelligence that suggests that the regime carried this out. Now do we have a picture or do we have irrefutable beyond-a-reasonable-doubt evidence? This is not a court of law and intelligence does not work that way,” he said.

McDonough made appearances on leading US talk shows in an effort to garner support for proposed military action against Syria ahead next week’s congressional vote in which most lawmakers seem to be opposed to a US-led strike.

In an interview with NBC, the Chief of Staff stressed that“nobody is rebutting the intelligence; nobody doubts the intelligence.”

The US says it has intercepted conversations involving Syrian officials during which they take responsibility for the attack. However, Washington has not made the conversations public.

The Obama administration has also referred to its satellite and signals intelligence, as well as military communications, as proof that the regime was preparing to use poisonous gas just days before the alleged attack took place.

Yet the administration has refused to let the public see the evidence allegedly connecting Assad to the crime - even though ample amounts of satellite imagery was released earlier by the US in order to demonstrate the consequences of the attacks by the Syrian regime’s military.

Mayat kanak-kanak dibungkus dalam selubung sebagai pemberontak Syria mendakwa mereka terbunuh dalam serangan gas beracun oleh tentera pro-kerajaan di timur Ghouta, di pinggir Damsyik pada 21 Ogos, 2013 (Bodies of children wrapped in shrouds as Syrian rebels claim they were killed in a toxic gas attack by pro-government forces in eastern Ghouta, on the outskirts of Damascus on August 21, 2013.(AFP Photo/Shaam News Network – think IN pictures @1WORLDCommunity)

Pakar-pakar mempersoalkan bukti Amerika Syarikat

Dengan bukti di tangan, pakar-pakar yang berjuang untuk bersetuju mengenai apa yang sebenarnya berlaku dan enggan untuk meletakkan menyalahkan.

Ia adalah sukar untuk menjelaskan mengapa Assad akan menggunakan senjata kimia ke atas rakyatnya sendiri ketika tenteranya telah lakukan dengan baik di atas darat - terutama sejak pemerhati PBB adalah berdekatan pada masa serangan itu - bekas pegawai tentera British Charles Heyman memberitahu AP .

“Kita tidak boleh mendapatkan kepala kita di sekitar ini - mengapa mana-mana komander akan bersetuju untuk ‘rocketing’ di pinggir bandar Damsyik dengan senjata kimia hanya keuntungan yang sangat jangka pendek taktikal untuk apa yang bencana jangka panjang,”katanya. Heyman suntingan ‘Angkatan Tentera UK, ‘ kajian dwi-tahunan berwibawa angkatan tentera British.

Jumlah angka kematian yang dikeluarkan oleh Amerika Syarikat juga telah dipersoalkan. Pentadbiran Obama berkata 1,429 orang telah mati di 12 lokasi kebanyakannya timur Damsyik. Dan walaupun nombor yang rapat sepadan dengan angka-angka daripada Gabungan disokong Barat Kebangsaan Syria, hanya 395 nama-nama mangsa yang dikeluarkan oleh organisasi atas permintaan.

Balai Cerap Syria yang berpangkalan di UK untuk Hak Asasi Manusia berkata bahawa ia dikira mangsa dengan nama dan jumlah semasa adalah pada 502. Organisasi mempersoalkan bilangan Amerika Syarikat dan meminta pentadbiran untuk mendapatkan maklumat mengenai apa yang angka kematian yang lebih tinggi adalah berdasarkan.

Pada masa yang sama, akhbar Bild am Sonntag melaporkan bahawa perisikan Jerman mempunyai bukti bahawa Bashar Assad mungkin tidak secara peribadi di sebalik serangan kimia. Dia juga disekat permintaan daripada komander tentera untuk menggunakan senjata kimia, media outlet Jerman melaporkan, memetik tidak dikenali, sumber keselamatan negara peringkat tinggi.

Laporan ini adalah berdasarkan penemuan daripada panggilan telefon dipintas oleh pengawasan German dikerahkan di luar pantai Syria dan dikendalikan oleh perkhidmatan perisikan BND negara.

Presiden Syria dirinya tidak disangka-sangka muncul untuk menyatakan kesnya kepada audience (penonton) Amerika Syarikat dalam satu temu bual untuk CBS, yang dijadual akan disiarkan pada hari Isnin.

“Tiada bukti yang saya gunakan senjata kimia terhadap orang-orang saya sendiri,” beliau dilaporkan sebagai berkata.

Amerika Syarikat telah menolak komen Assad.

“Ia tidak memeranjatkan kita bahawa seseorang yang akan membunuh beribu-ribu orangnya sendiri, termasuk beratus-ratus kanak-kanak dengan gas racun, juga akan dibuat mengenainya,” Timbalan jurucakap di Majlis Keselamatan Negara, Bernadette Meehan, memberitahu NBC News.

Setiausaha Negara Amerika Syarikat, John Kerry juga menolak kenyataan Assad, mengatakan pada hari Ahad bahawa “bukti yang bercakap untuk dirinya sendiri.” Komen itu dibuat semasa mesyuarat dengan Presiden Palestin Mahmoud Abbas mengenai 29 Julai semula rundingan damai Israel- Palestin, Reuters melaporkan.

Experts question US evidence

With the evidence at hand, experts are struggling to agree on what really happened and are reluctant to place blame.

It is hard to explain why Assad would use chemical weapons on his own people at a time when his troops were doing so well on the ground - especially since UN observers were nearby at the time of the attack – former British military officer Charles Heyman told AP.

"We can't get our heads around this - why would any commander agree to rocketing a suburb of Damascus with chemical weapons for only a very short-term tactical gain for what is a long-term disaster," he said. Heyman edits ‘The Armed Forces of the UK,’ an authoritative bi-annual review of British forces.

The death toll numbers released by the US were also questioned. The Obama administration said that 1,429 people have died in 12 locations mostly east of Damascus. And although that number closely corresponds with figures from the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition, only 395 names of victims were released by the organization upon request.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that it counted victims by name and the current total is at 502. The organization questioned the US numbers and asked the administration for information regarding what the higher death toll figure is based on.

At the same time, Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported that German intelligence has evidence that Bashar Assad may not be personally behind the chemical attack. He even blocked requests from his military commanders to use chemical weapons, the German media outlet reported, citing unidentified, high-level national security sources.

The report is based on findings from phone calls intercepted by German surveillance deployed off the Syrian coast and run by the country’s BND intelligence service.

The Syrian president himself unexpectedly emerged to state his case to a US audience during an interview to CBS, which is scheduled to be aired on Monday.

“There has been no evidence that I used chemical weapons against my own people,” he was reported as saying.

The US has dismissed Assad’s comments.

"It doesn't surprise us that someone who would kill thousands of his own people, including hundreds of children with poison gas, would also lie about it," deputy spokesperson at the National Security Council, Bernadette Meehan, told NBC News.

US Secretary of State John Kerry also dismissed Assad’s statements, saying on Sunday that "the evidence speaks for itself.” The comment was made during a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas regarding the July 29 resumption of Israel-Palestine peace talks, Reuters reported.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. (AFP Photo/Alexander Nemenov – think IN pictures @1WORLDCommunity)

Presiden Rusia Vladimir Putin, sekutu Assad yang paling berkuasa, yang menggunakan sidang kemuncak G20 di St Petersburg untuk menuduh pemberontak menganjurkan serangan.

Putin menegaskan bahawa menetapkan duluan tindakan ketenteraan di luar satu resolusi Majlis Keselamatan PBB akan bermakna bahawa negara-negara di DUNIA yang lebih kecil tidak lagi boleh berasa selamat terhadap kepentingan orang-orang yang lebih kuat.

Pada akhir sidang kemuncak itu, hanya 12 daripada negara-negara G20 menyokong kedudukan Washington mengenai campur tangan tentera.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Assad’s most powerful ally, used the G20 summit in St. Petersburg to accuse the rebels of staging the attack.

Putin stressed that setting precedents of military action outside a UN Security Council resolution would mean that the world’s smaller countries can no longer feel safe against the interests of more powerful ones.

At the end of the summit, only 12 of the G20 countries supported Washington’s position regarding a military intervention.

Syria News, Pope Francis memperbaharui rayuan untuk Keamanan di Syria, Arab Saudi Pengganas Kewangan . . .

MaliaJYy - Syria News 2013/08/09, Pope Francis memperbaharui rayuan untuk keamanan di Syria, Arab Saudi pengganas kewangan. (Syria News 8.9.2013, Pope Francis renews appeal for peace in Syria, Saudi Arabia finance terrorists)

- Damsyik: Doa di Cathedral Al ‘Zaiton, sebagai tindak balas kepada Paus Francis panggilan untuk berdoa untuk keamanan di Syria (Damascus: Prayer in Cathedral of Al-Zaiton, in response to Pope Francis call to pray for peace in Syria).

- Patriarch Laham: Negara-negara DUNIA yang menyokong penyelesaian politik di Syria (Patriarch Laham: Most world countries support political solution in Syria).

- BASP membincangkan perkembangan terkini dalam cahaya ancaman pencerobohan ke atas Syria (BASP discusses latest developments in light of  threats of  aggression on Syria)

- Moscow: Majlis Rakyat Arab membincangkan keadaan di Syria & Amerika ancaman pencerobohan terhadapnya (Moscow: Council of Arab Citizens discuss situation in Syria & American threat of aggression against it)

- Beratus-ratus orang di Amerika Syarikat, India bantahan terhadap keganasan yang berpotensi ke atas Syria (Hundreds of people in the US, India protest against potential aggression on Syria)

- Maloula: Tentera Syria terus operasi menentang pengganas yang membunuh & wonding pengganas yang paling banyak bukan Syria (Maloula: Syrian Army continues operations against terrorists killing & wonding many terrorists most non-syrian).

- Desa Damsyik: Army menangkap kenderaan yang senjata menuju pengganas di Douma (Damascus countryside: Army captures vehicle of weapons heading for terrorists in Douma).

- Times: penglibatan Arab Saudi dalam mempersenjatai dan pembiayaan kumpulan pengganas di Syria dalam penyelarasan dengan Turki, Qatar dan Jordan di bawah pengawasan CIA (TheTimes: involvement of Saudi Arabia in arming and financing the terrorist groups in Syria in coordination with Turkey, Qatar, and Jordan under the supervision of CIA)

Direkodkan daripada Syria TV Rasmi Channel dan dibawa kepada anda oleh (Recorded from Syrian Official Tv Channel and brought to you by):

https://www.syrianfreepress.net

https://www.facebook.com/Tg24Siria

Diturunkan ‘Rakaman Kimia Syria' Sebagai Kenderaan Amerika Syarikat kepada tekanan dalam mendahului undi . . .

Aktivis Syria memeriksa mayat orang yang mereka katakan telah dibunuh oleh gas saraf di rantau Ghouta, dalam kejiranan Duma dari Damsyik 21 Ogos 2013. (Syrian activists inspect the bodies of people they say were killed by nerve gas in the Ghouta region, in the Duma neighbourhood of Damascus August 21, 2013. (Reuters/Bassam Khabieh – think IN pictures @1WORLDCommunity)

MaliaJYy - Diturunkan ‘Rakaman Kimia Syria' Sebagai Kenderaan Amerika Syarikat kepada tekanan dalam mendahului undi. Sebagai hari semakin hampir untuk Kongres Amerika Syarikat untuk mengkaji semula permintaan Presiden Obama untuk menyokong serangan tentera Syria, CNN mendedahkan video yang ditunjukkan kepada Kongres untuk menaja serangan itu, manakala penentang perhimpunan pencerobohan di internet dan mengambil jalan-raya.

Hasil pengundian minggu depan adalah jauh dari tertentu. Pentadbiran dan undang-undang yang menyokong tindakan ketenteraan Obama sedang terbang dalam menghadapi perang letih awam Amerika, lebih separuh daripada mereka adalah terhadap ditarik ke dalam satu lagi perang Timur Tengah, Washington Post-ABC News pengundian menunjukkan.

Penentang adalah vokal dan membedil wakil-wakil mereka dengan e-mel dan panggilan telefon menuntut bahawa mereka menentang pencerobohan mungkin. Bagi sesetengah ahli-ahli Kongres tekanan pengundi adalah tegas, seperti Michael Grimm yang pada mulanya menyokong campur tangan Syria, dan kemudian menjentiknya menjatuhkan diri.

Satu lagi pro-mogok ahli parlimen, Brad Sherman, memberitahu Washington Post: "Saya tidak tahu ahli-ahli Kongres yang e-mel dan panggilan telefon yang memihak kepada ini".

‘Syria Chemical Footage’ Revealed As Pressure Mounts 

Within US Ahead Of vote . . .

As the day draws near for the US Congress to review President Obama’s request to back a Syria military strike, CNN reveals video shown to Congress to sponsor the strike, while opponents of the aggression rally on the internet and take to the streets.

The outcome of the voting next week is far from certain. Obama’s administration and legislators advocating military action are flying in the face of a war-weary American public, more than half of whom are against being drawn into yet another Middle Eastern war, a Washington Post-ABC News poll showed.

Opponents are vocal and are bombarding their representatives with emails and phone calls demanding that they oppose the possible aggression. For some members of Congress voter pressure is decisive, like Michael Grimm who initially supported the Syrian intervention, and then flip flopped.

Another pro-strike lawmaker, Brad Sherman, told the Washington Post: “I don’t know a member of Congress whose e-mails and phone calls are in favor of this”.

Minggu-minggu terakhir juga telah melihat beberapa siri perhimpunan anti-perang di kedua-dua Amerika Syarikat dan di beberapa negara lain. Aktivis di New York membawa tanda-tanda yang berbunyi, “Tiada lagi peperangan untuk keuntungan korporat”  dan “Cut the Pentagon, not food stamps.”

Kumpulan MoveOn.org aktivis bertujuan untuk meningkatkan trend dengan menyiarkan iklan 30 saat, yang menyeru kepada rakyat Amerika bahawa mereka harus petisyen Kongres, melainkan jika mereka mahu satu lagi Afghanistan atau Iraq. “Jangan membawa kita ke jalan ini lagi,” kata komersial.

‘MoveOn says’ iklan mengatakan yang akan disiarkan minggu ini di MSNBC, dengan putaran yang lebih berat sekitar alamat dirancang Obama kepada negara malam Selasa, di mana beliau adalah untuk menjelaskan kedudukannya di Syria.

Gendang perang

Pelobi dari kem pro-serangan juga menyiapkan diri. Amerika berpengaruh Israel Jawatankuasa Hal Ehwal Awam akan menggunakan beratus-ratus aktivis minggu depan untuk menggalakkan tindakan ketenteraan.

“Kami merancang satu usaha melobi utama dengan kira-kira 250 aktivis di Washington untuk bertemu dengan senator dan wakil-wakil mereka,” kata seorang sumber AIPAC memberitahu Reuters pada hari Sabtu.

Bergerak untuk mempengaruhi perhatian awam dari kesan menyerang Syria dengan kewajipan moral untuk berbuat demikian yang datang melalui sumber-sumber yang lain. CNN disiarkan rakaman pada hari Sabtu kerajaan Syria yang didakwa serangan gas sarin.

Rangkaian berita menegaskan bahawa ia tidak dapat mengesahkan bahawa imej-imej grafik orang, yang nampaknya telah diracuni dengan ejen saraf, sememangnya yang disebabkan oleh jelas serangan senjata kimia pada 21 Ogos. Tetapi rakaman dalam pelbagai video telah ditunjukkan untuk memilih ahli-ahli Kongres pada hari Khamis oleh pentadbiran Obama, yang berkata masyarakat perisikan telah memberi mereka dan mengesahkan kesahihannya.

Banyak video adalah antara yang dimuat naik ke Internet ekoran kejadian itu.

“Video Ini akan menyedarkan rakyat Amerika bahawa ini bukan sahaja campur tangan, bahawa ini adalah satu serangan tentera untuk menghentikan bahawa jenis kekejaman,” kata bekas Duta Amerika Syarikat ke PBB Bill Richardson kepada CNN.

Bendera palsu

Amerika Syarikat menegaskan bahawa kerajaan Presiden Syria Bashar Assad bertanggungjawab untuk serangan, yang anggaran Washington yang membunuh lebih daripada 1,400 orang berhampiran Damsyik. Pandangan ini dikongsi secara umum oleh negara-negara seperti Turki dan Arab Saudi, yang menyokong tindakan ketenteraan Amerika Syarikat terhadap Syria, serta oleh banyak daerah-daerah EU yang juga menyalahkan Damsyik, tetapi teragak-agak untuk menerima tindakan ketenteraan.

Walau bagaimanapun, negara-negara lain, termasuk Rusia dan China, ragu-ragu. Presiden Rusia Putin dinyatakan dari segi jelas bahawa Moscow percaya 21 Ogos pembunuhan sebagai provokasi oleh pasukan pemberontak, yang bertujuan mengheret Amerika ke dalam perang Syria.

Obama berkata pada bulan Mac bahawa penggunaan senjata kimia oleh tentera Assad ini akan menjadi garis merah, dan selepas itu Amerika Syarikat akan dipaksa untuk bertindak. Insiden Ogos maut datang hanya sebagai satu pasukan pemeriksa PBB menyiasat kes-kes penggunaan yang dikatakan sebelum ini senjata kimia di Syria.

Syak wasangka bahawa kematian kimia terbaru boleh menjadi operasi bendera palsu sebelum ini digunakan oleh sekumpulan bekas tentera Amerika Syarikat dan perisikan profesional, termasuk bekas NSA Eksekutif Kanan dan pemberi maklumat, Thomas Drake. Penilaian perisikan , yang White House menggeluarkannya untuk menyokong tuduhan terhadap kerajaan Assad, telah ditetapkan di seluruh dasar dan bukannya berdasarkan fakta, kata mereka dalam surat kepada Obama.

Mereka menambah bahawa seawal 13-14 Ogos pemberontak Syria telah diarahkan untuk menyediakan “yang utama, lonjakan tentera yang tidak teratur” dengan peningkatan besar dalam konflik yang dijangka. Mereka diberitahu bahawa pengeboman perang perubahan tentera kerajaan telah datang dan menerima sejumlah besar senjata, dan bahawa mereka akan perlu untuk mengeksploitasi peluang, surat tersebut.

“Kami memilih untuk menganggap bahawa anda telah tidak dimaklumkan sepenuhnya kerana penasihat anda memutuskan untuk memberi anda peluang untuk apa yang dikenali sebagai ‘penafian munasabah’, “penulis berkata, sambil menambah bahawa mereka percaya bahawa Presiden George W Bush telah diletakkan di dalam kedudukan yang serupa, apabila dia membuat keputusan untuk menyerang Iraq atas apa yang kemudian terbukti menjadi maklumat palsu mengenai milik Saddam Hussein senjata pemusnah besar-besaran.

The last weeks have also seen a series of anti-war rallies both in the US and in some other countries. Activists in New York were carrying signs which read, "No more wars for corporate profit" and "Cut the Pentagon, not food stamps.”

The activist group MoveOn.org seeks to bolster the trend by airing a 30-second ad, which calls on Americans that they should petition Congress, unless they want another Afghanistan or Iraq. "Don't lead us down this road again," the commercial says.

MoveOn says the ad will air this week on MSNBC, with a heavier rotation around Obama's planned address to the nation Tuesday night, in which he is to explain his position on Syria.

Drums of war

Lobbyists from the pro-attack camp are also gearing up. The influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee will deploy hundreds of activists next week to promote military action.

"We plan a major lobbying effort with about 250 activists in Washington to meet with their senators and representatives," an AIPAC source told Reuters on Saturday.

Moves to sway public attention from the ramifications of attacking Syria to the moral duty of doing so are coming through other sources as well. CNN aired footage on Saturday of the alleged Syrian government sarin gas attack.

The news network stressed that it could not verify that the graphic images of people, who appear to have been poisoned with a nerve agent, were indeed those caused by the apparent chemical weapon attack on August 21. But the footage in various videos had been shown to select members of Congress on Thursday by the Obama administration, which said the intelligence community had provided them and confirmed their authenticity.

Many of the videos were among those uploaded to the Internet in the wake of the incident.

"That video will sensitize the American people that this isn't just an intervention, that this is a military strike to stop that type of atrocity," former US Ambassador to the UN Bill Richardson told CNN.

False flag

The US insists that the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad is responsible for the attack, which, Washington estimates, killed more than 1,400 people near Damascus. The view was publicly shared by countries like Turkey and Saudi Arabia, which support US military action against Syria, as well as by many EU counties that also blame Damascus, but are hesitant to embrace military action.

However, other countries, including Russia and China, are doubtful. Russia’s President Putin stated in unambiguous terms that Moscow believes the August 21 killings to be a provocation by the rebel forces, which is aimed at dragging America into the Syrian war.

Obama said in March that use of chemical weapons by Assad’s troops would be a red line, after which the US would be compelled to act. The deadly August incident came just as a team of UN inspectors were investigating cases of previous alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria.

Suspicions that the latest chemical deaths could be a false flag operation were earlier used by a group of former US military and intelligence professionals, including former NSA Senior Executive and whistleblower, Thomas Drake. The intelligence assessment, which the White House released to back its accusations against the Assad government, has been fixed around policy rather than based on facts, they said in a letter to Obama.

They add that as early as August 13-14 the Syrian rebels were instructed to prepare “a major, irregular military surge” with a major escalation in the conflict expected. They were told that a war-changing bombing of government forces was coming and received large amounts of weapons, and that they would need to exploit the opportunity, the letter said.

“We choose to assume that you have not been fully informed because your advisers decided to afford you the opportunity for what is commonly known as ‘plausible denial,’” the authors say, adding that they believe that President George W Bush was placed in a similar position, when he decided to attack Iraq over what later proved to be false information concerning Saddam Hussein’s possession of weapons of mass destruction.

MaliaJYy - Israel enggan mengulas mengenai Syria. Perdana Menteri Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu telah kekal membisu mengenai campur tangan tentera yang berpotensi oleh Amerika Syarikat di Syria.

Pada mesyuarat kabinet mingguan di Jerusalem dia bersama-sama dengan menteri-menteri lain enggan membuat apa-apa komen mengenai percubaan Presiden Amerika Syarikat, Barack Obama untuk mendapatkan sokongan bagi mogok terhadap rejim Syria.

Ada mempunyai banyak spekulasi di Israel pada apakah tindakan yang akan berlaku terhadap Damsyik.

Satu penduduk Jerusalem berkata bahawa beliau “menjangkakan Obama akan ditentukan dan melaksanakan janji-janji dan kata-kata beliau tetapi nampaknya tidak akan berlaku. Jika ia ia akan berada pada skala yang sangat kecil.” Beliau percaya bahawa “resolusi kepada masalah ini bergantung kepada Israel dan pada satu titik atau yang lain akan bertindak sama ada selaras dengan Amerika O pada masa akan datang.”

Israel tight-lipped on Syria. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has remained tight-lipped about the potential military intervention by the United States in Syria.

At a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem he along with other ministers refused to make any comment on U.S. President Barack Obama's attempts to gain support for a strike against the Syrian regime.

There has much speculation in Israel on what action will take place against Damascus.

One Jerusalem resident said that he "was expecting Obama to be determined and carry out his promises and words but that apparently won't happen. If it does it will be on a very small scale." He believes that "a resolution to the problem depends on Israel and at one point or another will act either in tandem with the Americans O at a later date." 

Kerry: DUNIA Arab berdiri di belakang Amerika Syarikat 

pada Assad penggunaan senjata kimia . . .

Setiausaha Negara Amerika Syarikat, John Kerry menjawab soalan semasa sidang akhbar di Kedutaan Amerika Syarikat di Paris, pada 8 September, 2013. (US Secretary of State John Kerry answers a question during a press conference at the United States Embassy in Paris, on September 8, 2013. (AFP Photo/Susan Walsh - think IN pictures @1WORLDCommunity)

Kerry: DUNIA Arab berdiri di belakang Amerika Syarikat pada Assad penggunaan senjata kimia. Setiausaha Negara Amerika Syarikat, John Kerry mendakwa mempunyai sokongan majoriti di DUNIA Arab untuk langkah-langkah punitif terhadap Bashar Assad selepas serangan kimia yang dikatakan berhampiran Damsyik. Kenyataan beliau datang selepas mesyuarat dengan menteri-menteri utama Liga Arab.

“Kami semua bersetuju - bukan satu ingkar - bahawa penggunaan Assad amat dikesali, senjata kimia , yang kita tahu membunuh beratus-ratus orang yang tidak bersalah . . . ini melintangi, Garis merah Global Antarabangsa,” kata Kerry pada hari Ahad di Paris, kerana dia menghampiri ke akhir lawatan badai yang bertujuan untuk memujuk ahli-ahli politik antarabangsa merit serangan ketenteraan terhadap rejim Assad.

Setiausaha negeri bertemu dengan 9 menteri-menteri luar Arab dan Setiausaha Liga Arab, yang mewakili lebih daripada 20 negeri. Kerry berkata mesyuarat itu membuahkan penandatangan baru kepada penyata G20 yang meminta “balas antarabangsa yang kukuh” di Syria. Dokumen yang telah dibuat awam pada sidang kemuncak G20 di St Petersburg pada hari Jumaat, yang sedang digunakan oleh Washington sebagai asas bagi gabungan itu.

“Beberapa negara segera menandatangani perjanjian G20 yang telah dicapai oleh negara-negara yang kini 12 di sebelah mesyuarat G20 dan mereka akan membuat pengumuman yang mereka sendiri dalam tempoh 24 jam tentang itu,” kata Kerry.

Arab Saudi, Anggota kumpulan G20 ekonomi terbesar di DUNIA, telah menandatangani kenyataan Amerika Syarikat, dan Qatar, yang menteri luar Khaled al- Attiya berdiri sebelah Kerry kerana dia bercakap, adalah satu lagi sekutu firma.

“Kami di Qatar menyokong kenyataan sebelah G20. Pada masa yang sama, kami menyeru kepada semua negara-negara lain untuk campur tangan untuk melindungi rakyat Syria.”

Sama ada sokongan negara-negara lain meliputi menyokong tindakan ketenteraan sebagai tindak balas kepada kejadian 21 Ogos, di mana Amerika Syarikat berkata mengakibatkan kematian 1,400 orang awam, tidak jelas.

Mesir dan Jordan, yang merupakan salah satu kumpulan negara-negara yang takut kepada limpahan jika konflik ‘escalates, telah bercakap menentang tindakan langsung terhadap Assad.

“Apa yang kita sedang mencari adalah untuk menguatkuasakan standard yang berkaitan dengan senjata kimia,” kata Kerry, mencari sekali lagi untuk meyakinkan bahawa serangan Amerika Syarikat dicadangkan akan terhad dalam masa dan skop.

“Kami tidak ingin menjadi yang terlibat dalam, atau pihak kepada, atau mengambil alih perang saudara di Syria.”

Kerry juga enggan menolak kemungkinan Washington mengemukakan resolusi PBB bersama petisyen sendiri. Pada hari Jumaat, Presiden Perancis Francois Hollande berkata masyarakat antarabangsa perlu menunggu laporan berlaku pada serangan yang dikatakan dari pasukan pakar PBB, dan cuba untuk mendapatkan sokongan untuk sebarang campur tangan daripada Majlis Keselamatan.

“Pada komen Presiden Hollande berkenaan dengan PBB, Presiden [Obama], dan kita semua, sedang mendengar dengan teliti untuk semua rakan-rakan kami,” kata Kerry.

“Tiada keputusan dibuat oleh presiden.”

Dalam swasta, Amerika Syarikat mempunyai tempahan. Rusia, yang mempunyai kuasa veto dalam Majlis Keselamatan, telah menolak setiap resolusi yang disokong Barat, dan Vladimir Putin telah menuduh pemberontak Syria menganjurkan 21 Ogos serangan kimia di pinggir bandar Damsyik.

“Kami sentiasa menyokong bekerja melalui PBB tetapi telah jelas tidak ada jalan ke hadapan, dan kami tidak kini menimbangkan mencadangkan undi yang lain,” kata seorang diplomat yang tidak dinamakan memberitahu agensi berita Reuters di Paris.

Kerry seterusnya terbang ke UK untuk mengadakan perbincangan lanjut, tetapi tiada tindakan konkrit akan berlaku sekurang-kurangnya sehingga Kongres Amerika Syarikat undi serangan yang dicadangkan minggu depan.

Rejim Assad, yang telah terlibat dalam konflik 30 bulan yang telah menelan belanja sekurang-kurangnya 100,000 nyawa, terus menafikan apa-apa tanggungjawab untuk serangan gas.

Kerry: Arab world stands behind US on Assad chemical weapons use. US Secretary of State John Kerry claimed to have the backing of the majority of the Arab world for punitive measures against Bashar Assad after the alleged chemical attack near Damascus. His statement came after a meeting with key Arab League ministers.

"All of us agreed - not one dissenter - that Assad's deplorable use of chemical weapons, which we know killed hundreds of innocent people...this crosses an international, global red line," Kerry said on Sunday in Paris, as he neared the end of a whirlwind tour aimed at persuading international politicians of the merits of a military strike against the Assad regime.

The secretary of state met with nine Arab foreign ministers and the secretary of the Arab League, which represents over 20 states. Kerry said that the meeting yielded new signatories to the G20 statement which asks for a “strong international response” in Syria. The document, which was made public at the G20 summit in St. Petersburg on Friday, is being used by Washington as the foundation for its coalition.

"A number of countries immediately signed on to the G20 agreement that was reached by now 12 countries on the side of the G20 meeting and they will make their own announcements in the next 24 hours about that," Kerry said.

Saudi Arabia, a member of the G20 group of the world’s biggest economies, has already signed the US statement, and Qatar, whose foreign minister Khaled al-Attiya stood by Kerry as he spoke, is another firm ally.

“We in Qatar support the G20 side statement. At the same time, we call on all other countries to intervene to protect the Syrian people.”

Whether the support of other countries extends to endorsing military action as a response to the August 21 incident, which the US says resulted in the deaths of 1,400 civilians, is not clear.

Egypt and Jordan, which is one of a group of countries afraid of a spill-over if the conflict escalates, have spoken out against direct action against Assad.

"What we are seeking is to enforce the standard with respect to chemical weapons," Kerry said, seeking once again to reassure that the mooted US strike will be limited in time and scope.

"We are not seeking to become engaged in, or party to, or take over Syria's civil war."

Kerry also refused to rule out the possibility of Washington submitting a UN resolution alongside its own petition. On Friday, French President Francois Hollande said that the international community should wait for an imminent report on the alleged attack from a UN expert team, and try to secure endorsement for any intervention from the Security Council.

"On President Hollande's comments with respect to the UN, the president [Obama], and all of us, are listening carefully to all of our friends," Kerry said.

"No decision has been made by the president."

In private, the US has reservations. Russia, which has a veto in the Security Council, has rejected every Western-backed resolution, and Vladimir Putin has accused the Syrian rebels of staging the August 21 chemical attack in a Damascus suburb.

"We have always supported working through the UN but have been clear there is not a path forward there and we are not currently considering proposing another vote," an unnamed diplomat told Reuters news agency in Paris.

Kerry next flies to the UK for further talks, but no concrete action will take place at least until the US Congress votes on the proposed strike sometime next week.

The Assad regime, which has been involved in the 30-month conflict that has cost at least 100,000 lives, continues to deny any responsibility for the gas attack.

Al 'Quran dan AkhirZAMAN (September 2013 - Syawwal 1434) 

oleh Maulana Imran N. Hosein Rahmatullahi 'alaih . . .

MaliaJYy - Maulana Imran N. Hosein Rahmatullahi 'alaih bercakap tentang apa yang sedang kita Alami di DUNIA hari ini: Al 'Quran dan AkhirZAMAN, Mesir dan Arab Saudi, dAJJAL, Ya'juj dan Ma'juj, SYRIA dan Perang BESAR . . .

Maulana Imran N. Hosein Rahmatullahi 'alaih speaks about what is currently happening in the WORLD today: Al 'Quran and the Last Age (AkhirZAMAN), Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Antichrist (dAJJAL), Gog and Magog, Syria and the Big War . . .