IAF STRIKES SYRIA, DIRECT HITS CONFIRMED

“Latest News, Biblical Perspective”

Breaking Israel News offers a fresh and Biblical perspective on the latest news from Israel and the Middle East. Our bias is not liberal nor conservative
- Just Biblical.

(Photo: Yissachar Ruas/ Tazpit News Agency)

“Who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me.” ~ Nehemiah4:17-18

Lea Speyer, Breaking Israel News (BIN) — The Israeli Air Force conducted retaliatory strikes on Syrian outposts near the Golan Heights overnight Sunday after a 15-year-old Israeli citizen was killed and two others wounded in an attack which took place earlier in the day.

The IDF confirmed direct hits on nine army positions loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad, including command posts and firing positions.

“The IDF targeted nine Syrian army positions in response to the earlier attack that originated in Syria killing an Israeli teenager and injuring two other Israeli civilians. The targeted sites include Syrian [regional] military headquarters and launching positions,” an IDF said in a statement.

Several Syrian soldiers were reportedly killed in the strikes. Ynet reported citizens in northern Israel hearing major explosions shortly after midnight. Ground-to-ground Spike (Tamuz) missiles were used in the attack.

Syrian forces reported that the command center belonging to the 90th Brigade of the Syrian Army, located in Quneitra, was hit in the strike. Syria’s Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad called on the United Nations to take action against Israel, saying Israel has violated the 1974 ceasefire agreement in the Golan Heights.

Earlier Sunday, Arab Israeli teen Mohammed Karaka was killed by artillery fire as his father, a civilian defense contractor working on a border fence with Syria, was severely wounded in the attack. IDF tanks immediately responded with artillery fire towards Syria, hitting sites where the mortar fire emanated.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that Sunday’s attack on Israel was a “continuation of a number of attacks in recent months against IDF forces near the border in general and this area specifically.”

“The IDF will act with determination at any time and in any way it sees fit to protest the citizens of the State of Israel,” the statement added.

Naftali Frenkel (Far Right) Is An American Citizen — Click Photo To Visit LIBI

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon stated after the IAF strike that it was holding Assad “responsible for actions conducted on territory under its control.” The defense minister vowed Israel would “react firmly and aggressively to any provocation or attack on our sovereignty.”

IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner characterized the attack which killed Karaka as “an unprovoked act of aggression against Israel, and a direct continuation to recent attacks that occurred in the area.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Fehmi Karkara, father of Mohammed, and offered his condolences. On Sunday, Netanyahu addressed Mohammed’s death as well as the kidnapping of three Israeli teens by Hamas terrorists, at the Jewish Media Conference in Jerusalem.

---

“Israel’s enemies are using every means, they don’t hesitate to attack civilians or kill children, as happened this morning. They don’t differentiate between the Jewish and non-Jewish citizens of Israel,” the prime minister said.

---

“As a people, our heart breaks at the kidnap of every child, at the killing of every child and I am sure that I speak for all of you when sending our condolences to the grieving family.”

The Syrian border has seen a recent flare up against Israel over the last few months. Earlier in June, an IDF outpost on Mount Hermon came under fire from Syrian rebels. In March, rockets landed near an IDF base on Mount Hermon.

Israel, which has been warning for several months of the increase in attempted attacks by radical Islamists against Israel, has caught numerous terrorists attempting to infiltrate the border from Syria.

In March, IDF soldiers were injured when a terrorist from Syria belonging to Hezbollah planted a hidden roadside bomb, exploding the bomb as an IDF patrol jeep passed by. After the attack. Hezbollah admitted that the attack was a botched attempt at kidnapping Israeli soldiers.

» Full Article

About the Author

Originally from Miami, FL and now residing in Israel, LEA SPEYER holds a B.A. Cum Laude in Political Science from Stern College for Women and a M.A. Cum Laude in Counter-Terrorism and Homeland Security studies from IDC Herzliya. Lea has worked for several international think tanks, including the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism where she focused her research on Islamic radicalization trends. » Full Bio

» Lea Speyer | Article Archive
» Breaking Israel News | Web Site
» Breaking Israel News | Twitter

Latest News Headlines On BIN

» Netanyahu Slams “Disgraceful” Presbyterian Divestment

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the decision of the US Presbyterian Church to divest from three companies that provide supplies to the IDF and residents of Judea and Samaria. Dubbing the recent vote “disgraceful,” Netanyahu told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “most Americans understand that Israel is a beacon of civilization and...

» Presbyterian Church USA Unites to Boycott Israel

Members of the Presbyterian Church USA voted on Friday to divest from three companies with ties to Israeli security forces and Jews living in Judea and Samaria. In a very close vote of 310 to 303, members present at the annual meeting in Detroit, Michigan have decided to withdraw all financial investments with Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola...

» Israel Ranked Highest In War Against Human Trafficking

Israel has been ranked Tier 1 for the third year in a row by the United States in its annual State Department’s 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report, published Friday. The coveted ranking recognizes Israel’s efforts to reduce human trafficking and slavery within its borders and its acceptance and implementation of “minimum standards for...

The God Of Abraham, Isaac, And Jacob Regarding Israel

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. ~ Genesis 12:3

---

NEWS BRIEFS: JUNE 23, 2014

Current Events And Commentaries

» Report: US, UK Knew About ISIS Takeover Months In Advance
Arutz Sheva — Lead Story

Kurdish authorities tell news outlet that they passed along intelligence about the ISIS plans months ago to US, UK - who then did nothing.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's (ISIS) takeover of Iraq earlier this month took the world by storm, as the successive fall of several major cities in the Sunni-dominated northwest left Iraqis fleeing and world leaders shaken.

But what if the blitz military conquest could have been prevented altogether?

Kurdish intelligence reported news of a strategic alliance and pact between Islamist groups to topple Mosul and other major Iraqi cities with ISIS's help as far back as January, the Telegraph reported late Sunday. [Continue Reading...]

---

» ‘Creating A Danger Zone For All Americans’: Judge Jeanine Slams Obama’s ‘Feckless Foreign Policy’
Fox News Insider, Justice With Judge Jeanine —

I've told you that you need to be afraid because they are coming for you. The ISIS assault, the Islamic state of Iraq and Syria, signals the beginning of the reverse crusade. They are coming for us. To them, we are the infidels. But I for one am not willing to let one more American die or come home with fewer limbs from that part of the world. Americans have shed enough blood there. My resolution? Air strikes. Bomb them, keep bombing them, bomb them...

---

» IRS CANCELLED Contract With Email-Storage Firm Weeks After Lerner’s Computer Crash
The Daily Caller —

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) cancelled its longtime relationship with an email-storage contractor just weeks after ex-IRS official Lois Lerner’s computer crashed and shortly before other IRS officials’ computers allegedly crashed. The IRS signed a contract with Sonasoft, an email-archiving company based in San Jose, California, each year from 2005 to 2010. The company, which partners with Microsoft and counts The New York Times among its clients...

---

» Kerry: Removal Of Saddam, Gaddafi Not To Blame For Crises In Iraq, Libya
CNS News —

Secretary of State John Kerry pushed back Sunday at the notion that U.S. intervention to remove dictators in Iraq and Libya stoked terrorism and sectarianism, and is consequently to blame for the current crises in those countries. While briefing media in Cairo after talks with Egypt’s new leadership, Kerry was told that many people were accusing the U.S. of responsibility for “the disastrous situation in Iraq and Libya,” because of...

---

» The ‘Order Out Of Chaos’ Globalists
Bradlee Dean, The Sons of Liberty —

Over the last couple weeks I have been glued to the true story “The Lone Survivor,” where four of America’s finest Navy SEALs of “Operation Red Wings” were sent to do some reconnaissance concerning terrorists in Afghanistan. Right from the start it seemed very clear that the special op was cursed. All the way from herdsman coming directly into their particular position where they were discovered (they could not terminate the...

---

» SMOKING GUN: Obama Administration HIRED Parties To Bring Illegal Children Into US
Instigator News Network —

The Obama administration has fallen under suspicion of having orchestrated an humanitarian crisis of tens of thousands of illegal alien children from Mexico and Central America entering the United States. Weeks ago, reports of the border enforcement officials in border states being overwhelmed and being compelled to “dump” illegal children in facilities in other states began to make the news. Overcrowding of facilities and the incapacity of federal authorities...

---

» Pluralism Is The Enemy: ‘Jesus Is The Only Way’ Will Be Deemed Hate Speech, Says Pastor
The Christian Post —

Pluralism, not gender and sexuality, will be the biggest issue that every evangelical Christian will face, according to one Presbyterian pastor. Bryan Chapell warned that increasingly "it will be difficult to say in this culture that 'Jesus is the only way.'" "That will be interpreted as hate speech," Chapell, senior pastor at Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria, Illinois, said Wednesday at the 42nd PCA General Assembly in Houston...

---

» Major U.S. City Next Target For Islamic Terror
World Net Daily —

Beyond Iraq, what is the intent of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria? There appears to be short- and long-term goals, with a hint of those intentions in the name ISIS has chosen for itself. Its real name is the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, meaning Greater Syria. ISIS, morphing from the Islamic State of Iraq before it was excommunicated from al-Qaida central in Pakistan last year for its extreme Wahhabi brutality, appears to have intentions of re-creating...

---

» Obama Wants Iraq To Fall Under ISIS Sunni Control!
Gabor Zolna —

If Iraq falls, oil will reach above $200.00 per barrel, that will drive the price go a gallon of gas over $12.00 per gallon, if not more. Food will skyrocket, as will heating oil for Eastern American's. The Middle-Class will be totally destroyed, as will most Americans. About Gabe: The majority of my posted video's, are to try and highlight what is really going on with our criminal, and dysfunctional Administration. I have found that far too many American's are...

---

» Iraq — Remind Me Again Why America Destroyed That Poor Country?
Western Journalism —

I take no pleasure in writing this. I can’t imagine how my fellow Americans who lost loved ones fighting and dying in Iraq, or Iraqi civilians who suffered the same, are feeling at the news coming out of that country at the moment. We were told “mission accomplished.” We were told we were “bringing Democracy to the Middle East.” We were told that we brought the war in Iraq “to a responsible end.” This doesn’t look our mission was accomplished to me...

---

» Rand Paul: U.S. Created “Jihadist Wonderland” In Syria
Prison Planet —

Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul moved away from Marco Rubio and the neocons on Sunday when he told CNN the U.S. fashioned a “jihadist wonderland” in Syria that has empowered ISIS. “We went into Libya and we got rid of that terrible Qaddafi, now it’s a jihadist wonderland over there,” Paul said. “There’s jihadists everywhere. If we were to get rid of Assad it would be a jihadist wonderland in Syria. It’s now a jihadist wonderland in Iraq...

---

» The Presbyterians And Anti-Christ
Israel Today —

The Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) continues its spiritual and social war against the people of Israel.. The General Assembly suggests that its new hymnal replace "the unfortunate heading: 'God's covenant with Israel'" with "God's Covenant with Ancient Israel," or even with "Our Covenant with the Oppressed." ..Let no one be fooled. The motion to erase Israel from the Presbyterian vocabulary is a motion to erase Israel, and boycotting...

Check Back For Additional Breaking News Items Here
(Or Refresh Your Browser Now)

ASSAD’S DIRE WARNING TO AMERICAN JOURNALIST: ‘EXPECT’ RETALIATION

“You Should Expect Everything”

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – AUGUST 07: Journalist Charlie Rose speaks onstage during the ‘Charlie Rose: The Week’ panel discussion at the PBS portion of the 2013 Summer Television Critics Association tour at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on August 7, 2013 in Beverly Hills, California. Credit: Getty Images

Jonathon M. Seidl, TheBlaze/AP (WASHINGTON) — Syrian President Bashar Assad (bah-SHAR’ AH’-sahd) is warning there will be retaliation against the U. S. for any military strike launched in response to a chemical weapons attack.

In an interview broadcast Monday on CBS’ “This Morning,” Assad says, quote, “You should expect everything.”

Asked by anchorman Charlie Rose to elaborate, Assad says, “You should expect everything. Not necessarily from the government.”

He said the U.S. would “pay the price if you are not wise with dealing with terrorists,” and also said any strike would be supporting the same Al Qaeda terrorists who struck America on 9/11.

President Barack Obama is seeking an authorization from Congress to punish Assad for an Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack that the administration maintains Assad ordered.

Assad denied that, saying his soldiers were “in another area” at the time. Asked about the case the U.S. is arguing, Assad said, “nothing has been presented.”

“He doesn’t have [it]. He didn’t present it because he doesn’t have [it]. Kerrry doesn’t have [it]. No one in the administration has [it],” Assad told Rose.

The interview excerpt also included Assad taking a shot at Obama by accusing him of adopting the same ideology as George W. Bush:

Mocks Obama By Comparing Him To Bush

Related Articles:
» U.S. Doesn’t Have A “Shred” Of Evidence
» Says His Soldiers Suffered From The Chem Attack
» Kerry Gives One Week Ultimatum
» 70% Of Americans Don’t Support A Strike
» Even AP Questioning The Evidence
» Admin Admits: Don’t Have “Irrefutable” Evidence

» Full Article
» TheBlaze
» Jonathon M. Seidl | Article Archive

About the Author

Jonathon M. Seidl is the deputy managing editor of The Blaze. He joined the website as an assistant editor in 2010 and was one of its founding editors. Seidl's journalistic journey started when a college writing assignment called for a descriptive essay. After writing about the difference between his college town of New York City and his hometown in Wisconsin, Seidl's childhood newspaper decided to publish it. Since then, his writing has appeared in WORLD magazine and online with The American Spectator. Although a Green Bay Packers fanatic, he and his wife live in Dallas, TX, with their dog, Gus. Besides writing and sports, Seidl also enjoys playing the drums. Seidl graduated from The King's College-New York City with a degree in politics, philosophy, and economics.

---

Other Breaking News Items On TheBlaze

» Obama’s “Foreign Policy” In Syria Ruining America

The window of opportunity to change the course of the Syrian Civil War has long passed.

» Officials: Obama Admin. Got NSA Restrictions Reversed In 2011

The Obama administration secretly got the okay from a surveillance court in 2011 to reverse restrictions on how the NSA uses intercepted phone calls and e-mails, which allowed the agency to search deliberately for U.S. citizens’ communications, according to interviews with government officials and recently declassified material.

» Obama’s “Inside Job” Destroying America
“Barack Obama stars as the villain in his silver screen debut as President of the United States of America.”

REPORT: SYRIANS DON’T WANT AMERICAN INTERVENTION

You’ve Read The News - Now Understand It

Elizabeth Blade, Israel Today — The entire world is counting the minutes until September 9th when the US Congress is expected to reconvene in order to decide the fate of Syria, either banning or approving a US strike against Syrian government targets, following an alleged chemical attack that killed more than a thousand people.

Israel Today spoke to Yelena Gromova, a Russian journalist residing in Damascus, who presents another angle to the complicated Syrian saga.

US claims about an alleged chemical attack seem suspicious. At the same time, even the supporters of Syria’s President Bashar Al Assad (like Iran) acknowledge the fact. Who should people believe?

The attack did take place. But it wasn’t carried out by the party that the US and its allies are trying to accuse. On the first day of the attack, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Aleksander Lukashevich, announced that according to the information possessed by the Russian authorities “in the early morning of August 21st a makeshift rocket was launched from the areas occupied by the militant [rebel] forces.”

Anyone who doesn’t want to speculate on the subject knows that the chemical attack was carried out by the rebels. Other claims are no more than deceitful accusations aimed at discrediting the Syrian authorities. Those countries who are now blaming Syria have always actively supported those [Islamist] militants. This makes them partners in crime and therefore they should be held responsible for the blood of all those victims, including children.

It looks as if Russia is not going to interfere in the US-Syria conflict. This is despite the fact that Russia is one of Syria’s main allies. What’s going on? Did Russia get scared understanding that it's incapable of facing the US military?

Of course, it could have acted more vigorously like the Soviet Union did at the time of the Cuban missile crisis [of 1962]. But Russia provides Syria with serious diplomatic assistance. The mere fact that no American bombs have landed on Syrian soil so far is primarily Russia’s doing. Russian diplomats might be thinking that it’s better not to provoke Washington right now [in order not to trigger an escalation of tensions], but if the war does eventually erupt, I am convinced that Russia will be able to find the necessary leverage to stop it.

Knowing the psychology of the Syrian people, what do you think the West can expect from them in the event of an attack? Is Syrian going to turn into another Afghanistan?

The majority of the Syrian people are not scared. You can hear many Syrians saying: “We’ve been living in war conditions for the past two years, what else can scare us?”

Furthermore, if before there were some people who believed in the righteous cause of the so-called opposition, the situation has now changed. No longer do people believe in the good intentions of the US government or the "opposition," which calls for foreign attacks on its own country.

Syrians don't want the same outcome for their country as what happened in Iraq, and they loathe those who support western aggression against the Syrian government.

Some experts claim that Russia and the US are attempting to split Syria into smaller states (Alawite, Christian, etc.). How realistic are these claims?

Syrians do not want the split. Even the Kurds, who generally supported the idea of separation, are now speaking against it. Of course, Western powers are interested in splitting Syria as they remain loyal to the old Roman tactics of "divide and conquer."

But the Syrians say: “We have been living together for our entire lives. We are one people”. It’s worth mentioning that during Syria’s struggle against French colonialism, France offered to divide Syria into states based on sectarian differences, creating Alawite, Druze and Sunni federations, while giving Lebanon to the Christians. Yet, the leaders of anti-colonial struggle opposed the idea and called on the people to join forces to fight for a united and free Syria.

The representative of Syria in the League of Nations – who was a Christian – rejected claims that the presence of French forces on Syrian territory would protect Christians and announced that Christians and Muslims were one people.

Syrians are brought up on these values and they will do their best to prevent a split from happening.

How many people actually support President Assad and who are these rebels?

When I first came to Syria in 2011 I saw tremendous rallies in support of Assad and his government.

In 2014, Syria is expected to hold presidential elections. If the opposition was so sure of the people's backing, it would have proposed its candidacy and would have used political methods to obtain power, especially given the fact that the new reforms allow that. But the point is that they are afraid of elections. Their only way to assume power is with the help of American military might.

The rebels neglect basic ethical principles, and call on Obama to stage a war against the Syrian people. You can imagine what they will do if they assume power. Look at Libya, where everyone fights everyone. Syrians have to do anything it takes to prevent the Libyan scenario evolving in their country. » Full Article

» Israel Today

Want more news from Israel? Stay informed, Pray informed!

» Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates

---

Other Breaking News Items On Israel Today

» EXCLUSIVE: Syrian Kurdish leader On Looming US Attack And Its Consequences

Israel Today talks to Dr. Sherkoh Abbas, the leader of the Kurdish National Assembly of Syria, currently residing in the American capital.

» COMMENTARY: Obama - Spineless On Syria

Obama’s zigzagging on Syria is undermining Israeli and Arab confidence in America

» WATCH: Special Moments In The IDF

New promotional video for the Israel Defense Forces shows a group of young people no different than you or I

LIMBAUGH: WHAT IF BASHAR AL-ASSAD WAS FRAMED BY THE REBELS AND THE OBAMA ADMIN?

America’s Number One Radio Talk Show

The Setup Of All Time

» Video missing? Watch full screen here

Transcript

RUSH: My friends, do you remember when the Syrian rebels overran and controlled a government base that had chemical weapons last summer? Even Leon Panetta admitted that chemical weapons may have fallen into their hands. This was last summer. I doubt that you remembered this. I doubt that anybody remembers it. Even people who keep up with the news every day, I doubt that anybody remembers that, so I want to remind you.

Syrian rebels — the same rebels that we’re talking about today — overran and controlled a government base, a Bashar Assad base, admittedly, that had chemical weapons last summer. And even Leon Panetta admitted that chemical weapons may have fallen into the hands of the opposition last summer. Now meanwhile, John Kerry and the regime and the media have used as their main argument the rebels have never had access to these chemical weapons.

The idea that Bashar didn’t do this…

I mean, I’m not the first one to float it nor are the people who sent me their thoughts on it, nor is Yossef Bodansky the first. It’s been talked about in Washington. There hasn’t been a lot of news reported about it. But in dissecting events in Syria, people have posed the possibility in a rhetorical way. John Kerry and the Obama administration and the media have all used as their main argument that the rebels have never had access to the chemical weapons that the Syrian regime holds.

That’s why I want to remind you of the news story last summer that Syrian rebels overran and controlled a government base that had chemical weapons last summer, and Panetta admitted that those weapons may have fallen into the hands of the rebels. Kerry and the regime say that that didn’t happen, that the US government has kept track. Which, folks, is simply not true. Furthermore, didn’t a lot of the same people who say that Congress now must back Obama to maintain US credibility…

“Oh, yes. Congress must back the president! They must, must, for the purposes of the credibility of the United States of America.” Didn’t a lot of the same people try to stop funding our troops while they were on the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan? Didn’t some of these same people now demanding a united front actually engage in behavior that hampered the US military effort, particularly in Iraq? John Kerry two times, in Vietnam and Iraq, agreed that US soldiers are reprobates, rapists, terrorists.

Now all of a sudden they’re angels. You know, it’s Foreign Policy magazine, a flashback: “Panetta: We’ve Lost Track of Some Syrian Chemical Weapons.” That’s September 28, 2012. This is after Benghazi. That’s what Benghazi was all about in many ways. It was not last summer; it was last September in Foreign Policy magazine. Panetta said, we have lost track of some Syrian chemical weapons. This is after Benghazi. So I’ll give you some thinking on this notion that Bashar is being framed, that he didn’t do it.

################

Now, if this is right — and I say “IF” in capital letters — if this is right, this is the setup of all time. This thing prints out to four pages and I’m sure Koko and the boys have found it and are getting ready to put a link to it at RushLimbaugh.com. Defense and Foreign Affairs. If they don’t have it I’ll send ‘em the link. At any rate, it looks like there was US intel involvement dating a week before the alleged chemical weapons attack in meetings that were anticipating a war-changing event. So we could be looking here at a frame job, a pretty big setup.

» Read Full Transcript At ‘The Rush Limbaugh Show’

» Daily Rushbo
» The Rush Limbaugh Show

Related Articles:
» Rush: Syrians Gassed With Help From U.S.?

“I doubt that anybody remembered that Syrian rebels overran and controlled a government base that had chemical weapons last summer,” said Limbaugh.

THE HAL LINDSEY REPORT: AUG 30, 2013

Yesterday’s Prophecies.. Today’s Headlines

» The Hal Lindsey Report

KERRY: ASSAD IS THE GASSER BUT ‘PROOF’ NOT REVEALED

Says U.S. Credibility, Interests On Line

Garth Kant, WND — (WASHINGTON) Secretary of State John Kerry says U.S. intelligence has convincing evidence the Syrian government was responsible for a deadly chemical weapons attack on its own people, including the locations from which rockets carrying the gas were launched, the time of the launches and the targets of the attack.

“We know rockets came only from regime-controlled areas, and went only to opposition-controlled or contested neighborhoods,” he added in a news conference from the State Department Friday, while making the administration’s case for a possible military strike on Syria.

However, Kerry did not provide any actual evidence backing up those assertions.

He did say the U.S. administration has released an unclassified report on the attack.

Kerry maintained, “Its findings are as clear as they are compelling. I’m not asking you to take my word for it. Read for yourself, everyone, those listening, all of you, read for yourselves the evidence from thousands of sources, evidence that is already publicly available.”

However, the document the State Department released does not show any actual evidence to support the administration’s accusation that Syria launched a chemical attack on its own people on Aug. 21.

The report states the U.S. government has “high confidence” the Syrian government carried out the attack because of assessments “based on human, signals, and geospatial intelligence as well as a significant body of open source reporting.”

But it does not provide any of those first-hand accounts or intelligence.

Kerry invoked the case made for the Iraq War, saying, “Our intelligence community has carefully reviewed and reviewed information regarding this attack. And I will tell you it has done so more than mindful of the Iraq experience. We will not repeat that moment.”

He said that is why they have “taken unprecedented steps to declassify and make facts available to people, who can judge for themselves.”

However, when his predecessor, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, made the case for going to war with Iraq, he provided evidence such as satellite photos and transcripts of intercepted communications.

Most analysts say Powell’s information was faulty while some say Iraq sent its weapons of mass destruction to Syria before the war.

But Powell did provide evidence, whereas the document released today by the State Department provides claims of evidence.

And, just Thursday many U.S. officials began insisting the intelligence picture was “not a slam dunk.”

The Associated Press called that a “reference to then-CIA Director George Tenet’s insistence in 2002 that U.S. intelligence showing Iraq had weapons of mass destruction was a ‘slam dunk.’”

Kerry offered another justification for a strike on Syria that had little to do with evidence.

The secretary of state claimed, “the credibility and the future interests” of the U.S. are on the line, as is the need to deter other regimes that may be tempted to use chemical weapons.

“It matters because a lot of other countries whose policies challenge these international norms are watching. They are watching. They want to see whether the United States and our friends mean what we say.”

He said it is important to make sure other countries “still believe the United States when it says something.”

Kerry also spelled out what the administration believes was the motive of Syrian President Bashar Hafez al-Assad.

“We know that the regime was specifically determined to rid the Damascus suburbs of the opposition, and it was frustrated that it hadn’t succeeded in doing so,” he said. “We know that for three days before the attack the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons personnel were on the ground, in the area, making preparations.”

Kerry claimed the regime’s actions immediately before the massacre provided further evidence of its culpability.

“[W]e know that the Syrian regime elements were told to prepare for the attack by putting on gas masks and taking precautions associated with chemical weapons. We know that these were specific instructions.”

Kerry says the attack itself was horrific.

“[J]ust 90 minutes later, all hell broke loose in the social media. With our own eyes we have seen the thousands of reports from 11 separate sites in the Damascus suburbs,” he said. “All of them show and report victims with breathing difficulties, people twitching, with spasms, coughing, rapid heartbeats, foaming at the mouth, unconsciousness and death.”

Kerry said at least 1,429 Syrians were killed in this attack, including at least 426 children.

“Even the first responders – the doctors, nurses and medics who tried to save them – they became victims themselves. We saw them gasping for air, terrified that their own lives were in danger.”

Administration officials say Obama is preparing to launch a limited military strike on the Syrian regime despite questions from Congress and Britain’s decision not to participate.

Analysts expect the attack to come after U.N. investigators depart Syria Saturday.

Pentagon officials confirm the Navy has moved a fifth destroyer into the Mediterranean Sea near the Syrian region.

Those ships carry dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles. » Full Article

» WND
» Garth Kant | Article Archive

About the Author

Garth Kant is a WND staff writer. Previously, he spent five years writing, copy-editing and producing at "CNN Headline News," three years writing, copy-editing and training writers at MSNBC, and also served several local TV newsrooms as producer, executive producer and assistant news director. He is the author of the McGraw-Hill textbook, "How to Write Television News."

---

Other Breaking News Items On WND

» Al-Qaida To Storm Into Syria If U.S. Strikes?
Thousands of Islamic fighters mobilizing on border

» Muslim Invaders Already ‘In The House’
Exclusive: Jim Fletcher reviews eye-opening book on radical Islam in U.S.

» Military Gives Taxpayer-Funded Bonuses ONLY To Same-Sex Couples
Special wedding leave granted – above and beyond annual leave not available to heterosexual couples

GENERAL PAUL VALLELY: OBAMA’S BACKING WRONG SYRIAN REBELS

“It’s Their Agenda To Support
The Muslim Brotherhood”

WND TV, Radio America — President Obama is unlikely to take any military action against Syria that will actually make a difference, but his administration is actively backing the radical Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaida elements of the rebellion while leaving the Free Syrian Army high and dry, warns retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely.

Vallely consults with military leaders of the Free Syrian Army and recently returned from a trip to Turkey that also included a heavily guarded trip to the rebel stronghold of Aleppo. He was in the region when the apparent chemical weapons attack took place.

Vallely believes there should be military action to take down the Bashar Assad regime, but he told WND the “shot-across-the-bow” approach floated by Obama would be pointless.

“Obama’s really not a very brave person, so I don’t think he’ll take any brave action,” Vallely said. “He is known, even in the Middle East and Syria, for supporting the Muslim Brotherhood as he did in Egypt. His trend is toward supporting those elements also in Syria.

“The Syrian generals who defected, they all know this. They look at America as very weak, very impotent under our leadership right now,” he said.

As a result of his latest consultations, Vallely reported that the U.S. is actively providing support and logistics for the Muslim Brotherhood and salafist organizations like al-Qaida, but the more democratic-minded Free Syrian Army is essentially ignored. So why are Obama and his advisers siding with the more radical elements?

“They continue to make international mistakes like they did in Libya and that they did in Egypt. So there’s a pattern of ineptness and a misunderstanding about why this administration would continue to support the Muslim Brotherhood and the radical Islamists, rather than the Free Syrian Army, which is the true opposition force over there,” said Vallely, who believes Obama has not been hoodwinked by the Muslim Brotherhood but simply embraces its ideology.

“I think they approve of it,” he said. “It’s their agenda to support the Muslim Brotherhood. You don’t have to look any further than what happened in Egypt. There’s a perfect example of how Obama screwed up royally, and that’s why the military has come in. They basically want to decimate the Muslim Brotherhood, whose ambition is Shariah government.”

Polls suggest Americans are overwhelmingly against any military action in Syria. Vallely disagrees. He believes action should be taken against Assad but that it should be action that leads to a collapse of the regime.

“Western or other forces in the Middle East really need to neutralize the Syrian Air Force. Assad would fall in about 30 days if the air campaign would occur and knock out the jets and the helicopters,” said Vallely, who noted that the rebels don’t have a way of countering Assad’s air power. But he said the need to remove Assad from power couldn’t be more urgent.

“Rest assured, Assad is just as bad as Hitler was. And the international community needs to do something. First they need to ground and neutralize the Syrian Air Force,” he said.

But if Assad falls and the U.S. is actively backing the radical elements of the rebellion, won’t that leave Syria in the hands of extremists and the Free Syrian Army out in the cold? Vallely said that’s a hasty assumption.

“The Free Syrian Army is better structured and organized than is thought,” he said. “They have many professional individuals, from legal to financial to government policy planners. Remember, many of the defectors were not only military but they were also political bureaucracy-type people. So they’re prepared. They’ve already mapped out a plan for post-Assad.” » Full Article

» WND

---

Other Breaking News Items On WND

» Obama Setting ‘Scary And Dangerous’ Precedent
Lawmaker: President must have Congress’ approval to strike Syria

» Controversial Military Doctrine Has ‘Constitutional Problems’
Responsibility to Protect cited as basis for attacking Syria

» Assad’s Chemical Weapons Like Iraq’s WMDs
Lawmakers, analysts warn U.S. intelligence not ‘slam dunk’

REVEALED: OBAMA PLANNED ATTACK ON SYRIA IN 2011

Informing and Equipping Americans Who Love Freedom

“Will Obama Lead Us Into World War III?”

Kris Zane, The Western Center For Journalism — Just like George W. Bush planned on taking down Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein before 9/11, Barack Hussein Obama planned on taking down Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad before the so-called Syrian civil war began.

In a hacked email from intelligence giant Stratfor dated December 7, 2011, Pentagon officials are described as planning the toppling of the Syrian government before the civil war even began! This was just months after the war with Libya, in which Barack Obama illegally went to war with Muammar Gaddafi, failing to get approval from Congress, installing a regime now mainly made up of al-Qaeda.

There is no “civil war” in Syria, per se. True, some of the “rebels” are actually made up of Syrian citizens—most formerly destitute, most driven into war to provide for their families—but the majority are al-Qaeda mercenaries shipped in from Iraq, Libya, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, trained and armed by our own black ops special forces. This is no secret. The “rebels” openly march around the streets with U.S.-supplied weapons flying the al-Qaeda flag, singing the praises of Osama Bin Laden.

In fact, yesterday, after Obama all but declared he was going to attack Syria, the Drudge Report headline screamed: “DOES OBAMA KNOW HE’S FIGHTING ON AL-QAEDA’S SIDE?”

The answer: Yes, he does. He’s known it for almost three years. Remember Obama during the election: “Al-Qaeda is on the run!” Yes, Al-Qaeda is on the run. They’ve run right into Syria!

Obama knew it was al-Qaeda when he used Benghazi as a CIA hub to ship them hundreds—if not thousands—of shoulder-fired missiles, able to shoot down a commercial airliner. Apparently, the CIA wasn’t shipping the missiles fast enough, so al-Qaeda stole 400 missiles out of the CIA annex on September 11, 2012. That’s why we’ll never get a straight answer about Benghazi. That’s why there was the ridiculous story about an anti-Muslim YouTube video.

Yes, it now looks like it was Bashar al-Assad—or elements within his military—that lobbed a chemical weapon at innocent civilians. Why he did it is not clear. The al-Qaeda rebels were losing the war. America was tiring of Obama going through rhetorical gymnastics trying to explain why we were on the side of al-Qaeda. And America was tired of Obama’s endless wars. Bashar al-Assad had nothing to gain by it. Still, it is fairly apparent the Assad regime was behind the attack.

Either way, it looks like Obama is going to attack Syria—“a quick, limited military strike”—whatever that means.

But make no mistake: the impending war between the United States and Syria is nothing more than a globalist push led by Barack Obama to gut another Arab country of its resources, killing thousands of innocents in the process, including our own troops.

Best case scenario: after Assad is deposed and the al-Qaeda rebels gain power, then they will become the new enemy; and the globalists—with Obama at the helm—will start their endless war all over again.

Worse case scenario—and many believe this is what will happen: Obama will lead us into World War III. The United States, the United Kingdom, and France—all in debt up to their ears—on one side, and those countries vowing retaliation—Russia, China, and Iran, all glutted with cash—on the other side.

And who will win? News flash: you need money to win a war.

Oh, there is a third scenario: thermonuclear war.

All brought to you by Barack Obama. All planned out almost three years ago.

And I have one question to the American people: When exactly are we going to impeach Barack Hussein Obama? » Full Article

» Video missing? Watch full screen here

» The Western Center For Journalism
» WCJournalism Videos
» Kris Zane | Article Archive

---

Cowboy Joe Salvatorio

Shoots From The Hip

‘Western Center for Journalism Journalist-in-Chief’

» Video missing? Watch on YouTube

» Cowboy Joe Salvatorio | YouTube
» Cowboy Country Corral
» Cowboy Joe’s TV Ranch
» Cowboy Joe Shoots from the Hip

About the Cowboy Joe

Howdy Cowboys and Cowgirls, Subscribe Now! for all Cowboy Joe’s videos: Cowboy Joe’s TV Ranch; Cowboy Country Corral; and Cowboy Joe - Shootin’ from the Hip! Yee-haw!!! Subscribe now cowhands 'n I’ll see ya out there on the YouTube prairie.

---

More Commentary At The Western Center For Journalism

» Buchanan: Obama’s ‘Illegal War’ In Syria Grounds For Impeachment
Political commentator and former GOP presidential candidate Pat Buchanan tells Newsmax that Speaker John Bohener must call back Congress into session to warn Obama about striking Syria without consent. Failure to consult Congress before a strike on Syria would be grounds for impeachment, he says.

» US Attack To Begin On Syria Saturday!
That would make the date of the attack August 31, 2013, according to “Before It’s News.” I certainly hope that does not prove to be the case, however. Knowing what a narcissist Obama is, who knows what he might do?

» Top Ten Reasons For Obama To Attack Syria
Norvell Rose takes a semi-serious look at a serious topic on today’s LNTV report…

ISRAEL EXPECTS U.S. ATTACK ON SYRIA

You’ve Read The News - Now Understand It

Iran: "Trespassing Over The Red Line In Syria

Will Have Severe Consequences For The White House"

Israel Today Staff — Israeli leaders are anticipating US military action against neighboring Syria after Western leaders appeared to accept evidence that the regime of dictator Bashar Assad had used chemical weapons against its foes, including civilian populations.

In fact, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was openly urging Washington to make good on its threat to intervene should Assad employ non-conventional weapons against his own people.

In statements to the press prior to Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres even hinted that Israel itself could strike Syria if the situation did not stabilize soon.

Peres noted that the price of allowing Syria to continue holding chemical weapons after it has proved it's willingness to use them against even internal enemies was far higher than the cost of taking forceful preemptive action.

While most Israelis no doubt agreed with Peres, the prospect of open warfare with Syria caused some trepidation at home, as only 60 percent of Israelis currently possess up-to-date gas mask kits.

Meanwhile, Iran is warning America against any involvement in Syria. "Trespassing over the red line in Syria will have severe consequences for the White House," the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard told Iranian media.

Iran is determined to keep its ally Assad in power, and views the Sunni-dominated rebel forces as a threat to its own plans of regional hegemony.

For Israel, there is no good outcome to the Syrian civil war. If Assad wins, Iran's influence in the area will continue. If the rebels win, Syria will likely descend into chaos and become a haven for all manner of radical terrorist organizations, much like what happened to the Gaza Strip and Southern Lebanon. » Full Article

» Israel Today

Want more news from Israel? Stay informed, Pray informed!

» Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates

---

Other Breaking News Items On Israel Today

» Syrian Rebels: Israel Must Help Us Take Down Assad

A senior Syrian rebel leader on Sunday told Israeli media that the Jewish state must help must help topple the Assad regime by convincing Western powers to intervene militarily in Syria's civil war.

» Israeli Minister: A Two-State Solution Is Unrealistic

The two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that the world is touting, and that the Israeli leadership has publicly accepted, is unrealistic and will never happen, insisted a senior Israeli government minister.

» Lieberman: Turkish PM Advancing Nazi Anti-Semitism

Former (and possibly future) Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman this week accused Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan of advancing Nazi-style anti-Semitism after the latter blamed Israel for the current unrest in Egypt.

SYRIAN PRESIDENT BASHAR ASSAD TELLS INTERNATIONAL PEACE ENVOY THAT HE WILL WIN EVEN IF DAMASCUS IS DESTROYED

Examining Current Events In The Light Of God’s Prophetic Word

A prophecy against Damascus: "See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins. ~ Isaiah 17:1, Last Days Bible Prophecy Written c. B.C. 726

Assad Vows To Continue To Fight On
Even If Damascus Is Destroyed

Host: Dr. Jimmy DeYoung

Dr. Jimmy DeYoung resided in Jerusalem for 18 years where he held full credentials as a journalist in the second most populated journalistic city in the world. Arriving there just 3 days prior to the Gulf Crisis in 1991, he weathered 39 Scud attacks. Jimmy gave reports nationwide on several networks during the Gulf Crisis. Jimmy is a noted conference speaker in the United States, Europe, and South America, and he devotes several months out of each year to this conference schedule.

This “Daily Update” Aired: August 23, 2013

As the Syrian civil war continues to intensify, Bashar Assad - the defiant Syrian president - continues to hold on to power and command his military to destroy the opposition trying to overthrow the Syrian government.

Syrians have been killed in this civil war and the opposition is moving closer and closer every day to Damascus, the stronghold for the Assad regime.

Bashar Assad said recently that even if Damascus is destroyed, he as president of Syria would continue to fight on and would eventually win out in the final solution.

Jimmy’s Prophetic Prospective on the News

The brash statements by Syrian President Bashar Assad that even if the opposition of his government destroys the city of Damascus that he would still win in the end which is in contradiction of Bible prophecy.

The civil war in Syria has seen people killed as they endeavor to bring down the Assad government which is a horrific price to bring down a man whose family has controlled Syria for over fifty years. With each and every day of fighting, the opposition forces draw closer and closer to Assad's stronghold in Damascus and these opposition forces are threatening to destroy the city of Damascus. Defiantly, Bashar Assad said recently that even if Damascus is destroyed, he would prevail and he would win the civil war. Assad's statement that he would win in the long run even if Damascus is destroyed is a contradiction to political wisdom and to the prophetic word.

The ancient Jewish prophet Isaiah wrote 2500 years ago that Damascus would be destroyed. The phrase in Isaiah 17, "in that day" indicates that the prophecy will be fulfilled in the last days, a period of time very close at hand. When you notice Daniel 11:40 where it mentions the King of the North, you can conclude from Daniel 11:5-20 that the King of the North is modern day Syria. Daniel 11:40 says at the time of the end, and that's our day, Syria will indeed be destroyed. Damascus is the major city of Syria and it could very well be destroyed by the Syrian opposition forces who want Assad out of power.

Politically, it looks as if Damascus is about to be destroyed, prophetically however it is absolute, Damascus will be destroyed.

---

Jimmy DeYoung’s Weekly Prophecy Today News

The Middle East On Fire - Air Date: August 24, 2013

Jimmy’s guests this week include Ken Timmerman, Dave Dolan, Rob Congdon, Mike Gendron, John Whitcomb, and Jim DeYoung Jr.

Not to be missed!



» Prophecy Today | Home
» Prophecy Today | Radio Network

About Prophecy Today

Prophecy Today is a media organization with a global outreach, educating the Body of Christ of the future events foretold in God’s prophetic Word. Our goal is to equip Christians with the knowledge and understanding of what God’s Word says will happen someday soon, so that they can be prepared, pure, and productive in the light of the imminent Rapture of the Church.

» Read More