Excerpt
An airstrike by the US and its allies against the Syrian regime appears imminent, and many observers are pondering whether the region is on the brink of a new regional war.
Britain is drafting a United Nations Security Council resolution authorizing all “necessary measures” to protect Syrian civilians. Damascus and its allies in Russia and Iran have warned that a US attack could have “catastrophic repercussions” on the region. Russia has evacuated dozens of its citizens from Syria. Israeli citizens have been stocking up on new gas masks in case the Assad regime chooses to retaliate against the Jewish state. In Lebanon, eyes are on the militant Shiite group Hezbollah, waiting to see if the Iran-backed group and Syrian ally will employ its powerful arsenal, potentially dragging the country into a destructive war with Israel.
“The intervention of America will be a disaster for the region,” Ayatollah Ali Khameini, the supreme leader of Iran, told the Iranian Fars news agency Wednesday. “The region is like a gunpowder store and the future cannot be predicted.”
But while the US seeks to punish President Bashar al-Assad's regime for its alleged chemical weapons attack against Damascus suburbs last week that left hundreds dead, it does not want to trigger a retaliation by Damascus that could spark an escalation leading to a Middle Eastern war, analysts say. The goal is to deter the regime from using chemical weapons again.
"US, British lawmakers try to slow the march toward Syria strike" by Whitney Eulich, Christian Science Monitor 8/28/2013
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This week’s drumbeat toward Western action in response to Syria’s alleged use of chemical weapons is slowing its tempo as politicians in Britain and the US demand a say in how the countries respond.
After days of headlines like, “US and Allies Prepare for Action in Syria,” “Military strikes on Syria 'as early as Thursday,' US officials say,” and “US military "ready" to attack Syria, Hagel says,” the international community may be hedging its bets.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, who earlier this week seemed on track to call for military action, guaranteed legislators two rounds of voting on the topic. The first vote will be on the “principle” of military intervention, and the second will come after the United Nations inspectors release their chemical weapons report, according to the BBC.
The Associated Press reports that Britain’s “Labor leader Ed Miliband said Thursday he is unwilling to give Prime Minister David Cameron a 'blank check' for conducting possible future military operations against Syria.”
"Has Russia done all it will for Syria?" by Fred Weir, Christian Science Monitor 8/28/2013
Excerpt
As the clock ticks down to what many in Moscow believe is imminent US-led military action against the Kremlin's client, Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad, few here appear to believe that Russia can do much more to help Mr. Assad.
And that is not inconsiderable. Moscow has pulled out all the diplomatic stops in recent days, warning that any military action against Syria would be "illegal" in the absence of an enabling United Nations Security Council resolution, and then going so far as to block just such a draft resolution on Wednesday.
It has also kept up a steady drumbeat of polemic, accusing the West of "rushing to judgement" over allegations that Assad's forces used chemical weapons against civilians in a Damascus suburb last week, and insisting that UN weapons inspectors be given time to complete their investigations.
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