ABOARD A MILITARY AIRCRAFT OVER THE PACIFIC (AP) — The Pentagon is moving naval forces closer to Syria in preparation for a possible decision by President Barack Obama to order military strikes, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel suggested on Friday.
Hagel declined to describe any specific movements of U.S. forces. He said Obama asked that the Pentagon to prepare military options for Syria and that some of those options "requires positioning our forces."
U.S. Navy ships are capable of a variety of military action, including launching Tomahawk cruise missiles, as they did against Libya in 2011 as part of an international action that led to the overthrow of the Libyan government.
"The Defense Department has a responsibility to provide the president with options for contingencies, and that requires positioning our forces, positioning our assets, to be able to carry out different options — whatever options the president might choose," Hagel said.
He said the U.S. is coordinating with the international community to determine "what exactly did happen" in the reported use by the Syrian government of chemical weapons against civilians earlier this week.
"We're still assessing that," he said.
Hagel said a determination on the chemical attack should be made swiftly because "there may be another attack coming," although he added that "we don't know" whether that will happen.
Hagel said that although he is scheduled to spend the next week traveling in Southeast Asia, he will remain in contact with the White House about developments in Syria and planning for potential U.S. action.
(ALSO)
Pentagon is 'preparing for missile strike on Syrian government' as evidence piles up that Assad lunched chemical attack that killed at least 1,000
U.S. Sixth Fleet moved missile destroyers closer to Israel to put them in position for attack.
Joint Chiefs Chairman will present President Barack Obama with a strike plan on Saturday.
Obama seemed to put the brakes on talks of a unilateral strike, saying that the U.S. would need a coalition or U.N. support.
Government of Bashar al-Assad denies using chemical weapons and blames rebels
The U.S. military is preparing for a long-range missile attack on Syrian government targets, it was claimed today.
The revelation comes as evidence piles up that the murderous regime of Bashar al-Assad was behind the suspected chemical weapons attack Wednesday that killed an estimated 1,500 Syrians in a Damascus suburb.
The preparation for a military strike could mean that President Barack Obama intends to make good on his threat of 'enormous consequences' if Assad crossed the 'red line' of using chemical weapons against his own people.
CBS News reports that 'The Pentagon is making initial preparations for a missile attack on Syrian government forces.'
Commanders of the U.S. Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean ordered warships to move closer to Israel, so they would be in better striking range to hit forces in Syria. The maximum range for Tomahawk Cruise Missiles is about 1,500 miles.
Possible targets include command bunkers and missile sites that could be used to launch chemical-tipped missiles.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey is expect to present the plan for a missile strike to Obama at a national security meeting on Saturday.
CBS News points out that the missile strikes would likely be more tactical than strategic. They are unlikely to topple, or even significantly destabilize Assad's regime.
Instead, U.S. generals are hoping that such an attack could send a message to Assad - and also thwart future chemical weapons attacks.
Still, the president played down the likelihood of a unilateral attack on Syrian government forces and seemed reticent to use military force.
'If the U.S. goes in and attacks another country without a U.N. mandate and without clear evidence that can be presented, then there are questions in terms of whether international law supports it - "do we have the coalition to make it work?"' he told CNN in an interview broadcast Friday.
United Nations Security Council backing for a strike on Assad seems unlikely. Russia, which has veto power, is a staunch supporter of the Syrian government and has blocked any decisive action against Assad thus far.
CBS News also reported U.S. intelligence assets detected activity at known Syrian chemical weapons facilities before the attack Wednesday.
On Friday National Security Adviser Susan Rice tweeted that the mass casualties in Damascus were an 'apparent chemical weapons attack.'
'What is Bashar al Assad hiding? The world is demanding an independent investigation of Wednesday’s apparent CW attack. Immediately,' she wrote.
The Syrian regime has strongly denied that it has used chemical weapons, however the regime refuses to allow United Nations inspectors into the country to examine the site and confirm whether chemical weapons were used.
SCRIPTURES:
Joel 3:9 ¶ Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
Joel 3:10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I [am] strong.
Joel 3:11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.
Joel 3:12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
Joel 3:13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness [is] great.
Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD [is] near in the valley of decision.
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