dagblog - Comments for "Israeli Official:'Miscalculation' in Gas Attack"

From the new Snowden leak of

artappraiser — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 21:55:15 +0000

In reply to Israeli Official:'Miscalculation' in Gas Attack

From the new Snowden leak of the Intel Agencies "Black Budget,"

U.S. spy network’s successes, failures and objectives detailed in ‘black budget’ summary
By Barton Gellman and Greg Miller, Washington Post, August 29, 2013,

here's what's related.

On Syria:

High-tech surveillance

The documents make clear that U.S. spy agencies’ long-standing reliance on technology remains intact. If anything, their dependence on high-tech surveillance systems to fill gaps in human intelligence has intensified [....]

In Syria, NSA listening posts were able to monitor unencrypted communications among senior military officials at the outset of the civil war there, a vulnerability that President Bashar al-Assad’s forces apparently later recognized. One of the NRO’s functions is to extract data from sensors placed on the ground near suspected illicit weapons sites in Syria and other countries [....]

On chemical weapons:

Critical gaps

Despite the vast outlays, the budget blueprint catalogs persistent and in some cases critical blind spots.

Throughout the document, U.S. spy agencies attempt to rate their efforts in tables akin to report cards, generally citing progress but often acknowledging that only a fraction of their questions could be answered — even on the community’s foremost priority, counter-terrorism. [....]

A chart outlining efforts to address key questions on biological and chemical weapons is particularly bleak. U.S. agencies set themselves annual goals of making progress in at least five categories of intelligence collection related to these weapons. In 2011, the agencies made headway on just two gaps; a year earlier the mark was zero.

The documents describe expanded efforts to “collect on Russian chemical warfare countermeasures” and assess the security of biological and chemical laboratories in Pakistan [....]

The latter makes me wonder about what the powers-that-be are thinking about what's going to happen to Syria's chemical weapons stores if the rebels end up ousting Assad.

Another thing. On the fact that WaPo agreed to a black out of lots of information from the leaked Black Budget on national security grounds gives me a clue to watch what the reporters who have had full access say and do about contentious intel issues like Syria. Gellman and Miller, they now know things on that front that we don't.

Not really off-topic, I

A Guy Called LULU — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 16:13:28 +0000

In reply to And I noted that Obama, on

Not really off-topic, I think.

Syrian father thought son was dead – watch as they reunite

The conflict in Syria has produced more horrible videos than perhaps any other in history. The footage that has reached a global audience through YouTube and other online video services has shown the horror, suffering and destruction that this two year long war has caused, and is still causing, every day.

At a point when even more strikes seem to be looming, it is a heartwarming relief, if only for a moment, to see a happy video from Syria, probably the first one in a very long time.

All parents can relate to the unimaginable grief of losing a child - and the joy if it turned out to still be alive. Watch as this man from the southwestern Syrian town of Zamalka is reunited with his son who was believed to have been killed - like so many other Syrian children - in a recent military strike.

The father appears about a minute into the clip, which was posted by Syrian activists on Monday.

http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/news/syrian-father-thought-son-was-dead-wa...

U.S. satellites have captured

A Guy Called LULU — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 16:01:47 +0000

In reply to And I noted that Obama, on

U.S. satellites have captured images of Syrian troops moving trucks into weapons storage areas and removing materials, but U.S. analysts have not been able to track what was moved or, in some cases, where it was relocated. They are also not certain that when they saw what looked like Assad’s forces moving chemical supplies, those forces were able to remove everything before rebels took over an area where weapons had been stored. - See more at: http://www.emptywheel.net/2013/08/29/general-idris-close-watch-on-assads...

Dangling Questions on Syrian

A Guy Called LULU — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 15:35:14 +0000

In reply to And I noted that Obama, on

Dangling Questions on Syrian War. Well worth a read, IMO.

http://consortiumnews.com/2013/08/29/dangling-questions-on-syrian-war/

Red Lines Drawn with Syrian

A Guy Called LULU — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 15:23:58 +0000

In reply to And I noted that Obama, on

Red Lines Drawn with Syrian Blood. This guy stole my metaphor.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/08/29/red-lines-drawn-with-syrian-blood/

The videos and screen shots

A Guy Called LULU — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 15:09:29 +0000

In reply to And I noted that Obama, on

The videos and screen shots linked below could easily be setups. The men could all be among Assad's closest buddies wearing their knock-around civies while they play one-dimensional tidily winks. They do look a bit casual, not like they are participating in a coordinated attack. The equipment though looks legit and easy to use. Also easy to capture in a civil war in which the rebels have swept back and forth over large parts of the country. It would seem to greatly weaken the assertion by numerous mongers that 'only the Syrian army could have done it'. This is a case where the fog of war could easily mislead as to who [apparently] released the fog of gas.
Reports are that U.S. pushed for inspections and that Syria agreed to UN inspectors one day after official request by UN. Next day the US said too late, five days after attack the evidence would be too degraded plus we already know who did it. Lock and load, heroes.

http://www.wnd.com/2013/08/video-shows-rebels-launching-gas-attack-in-sy...

In Rush to Strike Syria, U.S. Tried to Derail U.N. Probe

http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/08/in-rush-to-strike-syria-u-s-tried-to-dera...

More arguments against the government's case.

http://www.moonofalabama.org/

And I noted that Obama, on

artappraiser — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 03:29:41 +0000

In reply to State Dept Admits It Doesn't

And I noted that Obama, on PBS Newshour this evening, was careful to point only to "the Syrian government" for responsibility:

Obama: No decision yet on launching Syria military strike

USA Today, 11:21 p.m. EDT August 28, 2013

[....] The president made clear that he is certain that Assad's team was responsible for the Aug. 21 strike on the outskirts of Damascus.

"We have looked at all the evidence, and we do not believe the opposition possessed nuclear weapons on – or chemical weapons of that sort," Obama said. "We do not believe that, given the delivery systems, using rockets, that the opposition could have carried out these attacks. We have concluded that the Syrian government in fact carried these out. And if that's so, then there need to be international consequences."[....]

State Dept Admits It Doesn't

artappraiser — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 02:42:43 +0000

In reply to Here is more from two other

State Dept Admits It Doesn't Know Who Ordered Syria's Chemical Strike
Posted By Elias Groll, The Cable @ ForeignPolicy.com, August 28, 2013

With the United States barreling toward a strike on Syria, U.S. officials say they are completely certain that Bashar al-Assad's government is responsible for last week's chemical weapons attack. They just don't know who in the Syrian government is to blame.

On Wednesday, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf admitted as much. "The commander-in-chief of any military is ultimately responsible for decisions made under their leadership, even if ... he's not the one that pushes the button or said, 'Go,' on this," Harf said. "I don't know what the facts are here. I'm just, broadly speaking, saying that he is responsible for the actions of his regime. I'm not intimately familiar with the command and control structure of the Syrian military. I'm just not. But again, he is responsible ultimately for the decisions that are made."

On Tuesday, The Cable reported that U.S. officials are basing their assessment that the Assad regime bears responsibility for the strike largely on an intercepted phone call between a panicked Ministry of Defense official and a commander of a Syrian chemical weapons unit. But that intelligence does not resolve the question of who in the government ordered the strike or what kind of command and control structures are in place for the use of such weapons. "It's unclear where control lies," one U.S. intelligence official told The Cable Tuesday. "Is there just some sort of general blessing to use these things? Or are there explicit orders for each attack?"

Because of that lack of clarity, Harf took a beating on Wednesday. In a testy exchange during her daily briefing [....]

Weds. State Dept. Press briefing transcript is here:

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2013/08/213585.htm

Command confusion,

NCD — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 15:48:44 +0000

In reply to Here is more from two other

Command confusion, miscalculation, and not knowing what the hell they are doing has always been 'business as usual' for Arab regimes.

On NPR this AM, some fellow

Donal — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 13:34:05 +0000

In reply to Here is more from two other

On NPR this AM, some fellow named Crook was claiming that the rebels fired the rockets as a false flag op. He seemed to have a pro-Assad agenda, though.