Sunday Times 2
Syria expects an attack ‘at any moment’: Security official
View(s):DAMASCUS, Aug 31 (AFP) – Syria expects a military attack “at any moment” and is ready to retaliate, an official said today, hours after UN experts probing a suspected gas attack blamed on the regime quit the country. The departure of the inspectors has opened a window for a possible US-led strike after President Barack Obama on Friday gave his clearest indication yet that a military intervention was imminent.
“We are expecting an attack at any moment. We are ready to retaliate at any moment,” the security official told AFP, asking not to be named. The 13 UN inspectors, led by Ake Sellstrom, left their Damascus hotel in a convoy before dawn and crossed into Lebanon a few hours later, AFP reporters said.
They are due to report straight back to United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon and detail their conclusions on whether a poison gas attack actually did take place in Damascus suburbs on August 21, based on samples they collected. Obama’s administration says it has no need to wait for the results of the probe, claiming its intelligence gives firm evidence the regime launched a chemical onslaught that killed 1,429 people, including at least 426 children.
That brought a contemptuous response from Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country is a close ally of Syria, saying claims the regime had used chemical weapons were “utter nonsense” and demanding proof. Obama said on Friday: “We cannot accept a world where women and children and innocent civilians are gassed on a terrible scale.”
“The world has an obligation to make sure we maintain the norm against the use of chemical weapons,” the president said, slamming the failure of the UN Security Council to agree on action. Obama said he was looking at a “wide range of options” but had ruled out “boots on the ground” or a “long-term campaign.”
“We are looking at the possibility of a limited, narrow act,” he said, while stressing no final decision had been taken on unleashing military strikes against Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Syria has denied responsibility for the alleged incident and has pointed the finger of blame at “terrorists” — its term for rebels ranged against Assad’s forces.
In Damascus, the mood was heavy with fear, and security forces were making preparations for possible air strikes, pulling soldiers back from potential targets. Residents were seen stocking up with fuel for generators in case utilities are knocked out by a strike.
And as the inspectors crossed into Lebanon, they were followed by families desperate to flee.
‘If they don’t show proof, there is none’
US Secretary of State John Kerry cited “multiple streams of intelligence” indicating that the Syrian government had carried out the chemical attack and that Assad himself is the “ultimate decision maker”. Kerry said failure to act would not only erode the nearly century-old norm against the use of chemical weapons, but would embolden Syrian allies Iran and Hezbollah.
Putin demanded proof.
“Common sense speaks for itself,” he told journalists in Vladivostok when asked about claims the Syrian army used chemical weapons.
They are “on the offensive and have surrounded the opposition in several regions. In these conditions, to give a trump card to those who are calling for a military intervention is utter nonsense.” The Americans “say that they have proof, well, let them show it to the United Nations inspectors and the Security Council… If they don’t show it, that means there is none.”
Russia and Iran, and even some US allies, have warned against any intervention, saying it risks sparking a wider conflict. The United States, faced with an impasse at the Security Council and the British parliament’s shock vote Thursday, has been forced to look elsewhere for international partners.
While Germany and Canada ruled out joining any strikes, French President Francois Hollande — whose country stridently opposed the US-led war on Iraq — said a British parliamentary vote rejecting participation would not affect his government’s stance.
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