7:02PM
Turkey, Israel, Cyprus on Syrian alert
Issandr El Amrani
An interesting tidbit from MENA, the Egyptian official news agency (sorry, no link):
This is probably routine increasing of alert because of the current situation, but see how it is being portrayed in the press.
KUWAIT, Feb 17 (MENA) - Israel and Turkey have put their air forces and
airstrips near the border with Syria at maximum alert Wednesday dawn
following European and US notifications over possibile Western military
intervention in Syria and Lebanon to topple their regimes in the fashion
of Iraq's Saddam, according to a Kuwaiti paper.
Al-Siyasa's Thursday issue quoted security reports from the North
Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) command in Brussels as saying that the
British government has opened its two key airstrips in the Greek part of
Cyprus for US, French and European air forces.
The reports added decisions are expected to be taken very soon to send
the troops there to be on their marks for military intervention in Syria
and Lebanon.
All Western parties, including the United States and France, have asked
the Ariel Sharon government in Tel Aviv not to take part in any direct
military operations against Syria and Lebanon, according to the NATO
reports. (MENA)
This is probably routine increasing of alert because of the current situation, but see how it is being portrayed in the press.
Reader Comments (3)
Sorry, but all in this message is [....].
There are no [no!] reports of anything going on in Europe.
Next week Bush will visit Europe and before that no decision about diplomatic interventions of the EU in the syrian case will be made. [We all have time to watch the Lebanese speak out very clearly what must happen. Nobody will shoot into that positive wave.]
And the internal move of Assad to finally change heads must be seen as the first step from him to regain control over desperate elements that don't want to get out of Lebanon. WithIn 3 weeks, I bet, he will declare that Syria goes out of Lebanon.
The whole message is a strategical desaster. Within 3 days the US-Admin has brougth 25 countries in line including 20 that are against an attack. Without any representativs meeting each other, or even talking to each other.
The main point why it is a fake: "has opened its two key airstrips in the Greek part of Cyprus for US, French and European air forces. " This is stupid. The airstrips are already open on a direct way over countries like Bulgaria/Romania. There is no need for other airstrips.
PS: As I am living under the "key airstrip" for supplies for the Turkish US-bases I can report of no preparations. Besides the fact that a NATO-alert has to be declared and involves several tens of thousands soldiers, dozens of airbases ... you can not keep that secret.
Belive me:
Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Seyassah reported Saturday that the killing of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri was planned in the highest echelons of the Syrian military.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/542126.html
"WithIn 3 weeks, I bet, he will declare that Syria goes out of Lebanon."
Arab League chief Amr Moussa said President Bashar al-Assad had told him Syria would soon take steps toward withdrawing its forces in line with the Taif agreement, .... [reuters].
3 days, so just in time before the visit of Bush with Chirac/Schröder.