PENTAGON SET FOR ACTION AS SYRIA CRISIS DEEPENS
Trump warns Assad and Russia to ‘get ready’ for missiles after Douma chemical attack
US Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis presented the White House with a set of military options ahead of a possible strike in Syria in response to a chemical attack.
Mr Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon that these options were available, even as the US and allies are still in the process of gathering information.
“We are still assessing the intelligence, ourselves and our allies, we are still working on this,” Mr Mattis said when asked if he had seen enough evidence to blame President Bashar Al Assad for a chemical attack in Eastern Ghouta that killed at least 60 people and injured hundreds.
“We are ready to provide military options if they are appropriate,” he said.
Shortly after the announcement Mr Mattis discussed the Syria options with President Donald Trump at a White House meeting. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal quoted US officials saying an extended air campaign lasting more than one day was possible.
“Options included salvos aimed at crippling Mr Assad’s chemical-weapons capabilities, while not seeking to push him from power,” The Wall Street Journal said.
French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday was also briefed by Mr Mattis on military options, Le Figaro reported.
The US Navy reportedly moved warships carrying cruise missiles in the direction of the Mediterranean, and towards firing distance of Syria. French Rafale fighter jets at Saint Robinson Dizier airbase have been put on alert ahead of a possible strike, Le Figaro said.
The Pentagon, however refrained from confirming any military action.
The US Department of Defence said that the US military did not comment on “potential military actions”.
“I refer you to the White House to characterise the president’s tweet,” its statement read.
Mr Trump’s tweet yesterday responded to Russian warnings that US intervention in Syria would be met with “grave repercussions”.
“Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and ‘smart’,” Mr Trump tweeted in reference to US missiles. “You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it.”
But US strikes will be effective only if they debilitate Mr Al Assad’s war machine, said Nicholas Heras, a defence fellow at the Centre for a New American Security. “That means the United States and its allies will need to hit a range of targets that are both military, and non-military targets that are significant to the regime,” Mr Heras told The National. “These targets could include forward operating
bases, military airbases, intelligence buildings, and possibly Assad family business assets.”
Meanwhile, the UAE yesterday expressed concern over developments in Syria and the UN’s failure to take action.
“The United Arab Emirates calls upon the international community to take all the necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of civilians, and ensure the cessation of violence that unfolded in the Syrian crisis,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation.
“The UAE also calls for the establishment of a commission of inquiry and accountability on this heinous act.”
At least 60 people were reported dead and hundreds injured in Saturday’s chemical weapons attack in the town of Douma, in Eastern Ghouta, Syrian relief workers said. An estimated 500 people were being treated for “symptoms consistent with exposure to toxic chemicals”, the World Health Organisation said yesterday.
The Syrian government and Russia say that the reports are bogus.
Moscow suggested US plans to strike Syria could be a pretext to destroy evidence of an alleged chemical weapons attack, which Russia has said was a staged provocation to justify western intervention.
The possibility of US air strikes followed Russia’s rejection of a US draft resolution at the UN that sought to create an expert group that would determine responsibility for the attacks. The Security Council voted 12-2 as Russia used its veto for the 12th time to protect its ally, Mr Al Assad.
Syria’s army reportedly has evacuated defence buildings in Damascus after intelligence suggested they may be targeted.
“The buildings of the ministry of defence and the army headquarters have been empty for two days,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.
Government forces have also evacuated military airports as well as the bases of the elite Fourth Division and Republican Guard outside the capital. “The Russians told Syrian army leadership they had intelligence on possible US and French targets in Syria,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.
According to Sky News Arabia, activists reported that Hezbollah was vacating positions near Homs and Qusair on the border with Lebanon.
There was no indication in Washington of plans to hit proIran fighters or members of Hezbollah directly.
Reports from within Syria say the government is taking Mr Trump’s threat very seriously as defence ministry buildings are evacuated