Syria Fires Scud Missiles at Insurgents, U.S. Says

New York Times ^ | December 12, 2012 | Mark Landler, Aida Alami, Alan Cowell and Anne Bernard

[Zakeet]

Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have fired Scud missiles at rebel fighters in recent days, Obama administration officials said on Wednesday.

The move represents a significant escalation in the fighting, which has already killed more than 40,000 civilians in a nearly two-year-old conflict that has threatened to destabilize the Middle East.

One American official, who asked not to be identified because he was discussing classified information, said that missiles had been fired from the Damascus area at targets in northern Syria.

“The total is number is probably north of six now,” said another American official, and that the targets were in areas controlled by the Free Syrian Army, the main armed insurgent group.

It is not clear how many casualties resulted from the attacks by the Scuds

[Zakeet]

You Freepers don't need to worry because Hussein and Hillary are in charge ... and the Muzzies absolutely love and obey them ... and they would never fill the warheads with chemicals and shoot these things at Israel!

[silentknight]

One American official, who asked not to be identified because he was discussing classified information,

One American official, who asked not to be identified because he was discussing classified information,

One American official, who asked not to be identified because he was discussing classified information,

One American official, who asked not to be identified because he was discussing classified information,

One American official, who asked not to be identified because he was discussing classified information,

One American official, who asked not to be identified because he was discussing classified information,

Wow!!!!

[Cowboy Bob]

Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have fired Scud missiles at rebel fighters in recent days, Obama administration officials said on Wednesday.

Is Assad allowed to defend himself? I didn't think that was legal... /sarc

[ClearCase_guy]

1) Chemical weapons on the move
2) Scud missiles successfully fired at the enemy

Now, it's just a matter of putting things together.

And then Obama makes his move.

NOTE: Assad doesn't actually have to do anything. But Obama can make the claim and it will be unquestioned, and then we've got boots on the ground and we're fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with al Qaeda, knocking over one of the last secular regimes in the Middle East.

[ClearCase_guy]

The Caliphate. So close, you can smell it.

[Mac94]

This makes no sense ... SCUDs against what basically is a light infantry force? Unless they were chemically tipped there is zero military sense here. Those type weapons would be for fix large strategic targets and not for use in a conventional way against light infantry.

So if it happened there’s mre to this than is being reported or the government is pushing something for political ends knowing the word “SCUD” would get a reaction from the public.

[KnutKase]

Um, are these Saddam’s or Assad’s?

[Alter Kaker]

One American official, who asked not to be identified because he was discussing classified information,

So? All sorts of stupid things are classified. I don't think there's anything particularly sacrosanct about classified information. Obama's people probably classified it to try to limit the info getting out to the public.

[buwaya]

I have heard of this before.
The pro-Soviet Afghan army did the same when it was in its last days.
Its a desperation move I think. Make some big bangs, even if pointless militarily, in hope of demoralizing some of the opposition. Or shoot with whatever is left, if no better artillery is in range.

[Gen.Blather]

Depending on how old they are technologically, the warhead has a CEP (Circular Error Probability) of about half a mile. Meaning, it will hit within half a mile of where it is aimed. Explosive warheads are probably in the 2000 pound range meaning it will destroy the building it hits and damage to progressively lesser degrees surrounding buildings.

Two thoughts. He can’t move the missiles into his chosen redoubt so he is using them up so they can’t be used against him when he and the remaining Alawite supporters move to the area around the Russian occupied port. (The rebels are allowing convoys heading to this area to go unmolested to avoid a protracted fight for the capital. But they surely would stop obvious weapons that could be used against them from a distance. Also, the regime has been conducting ethnic cleansing in the region of the redoubt and on the projected new border.) Secondly, the scuds are only a terror weapon with no significant military value. I suspect that the rebels won’t be impressed as they’ve been about as terrorized as they’re likely to be and it will simply spur them to fight harder. But it will probably reduce their numbers for future conflicts with the Assad regime in its new home.

Another thought. The US official didn’t give his name because he was discussing classified information. Are there no US officials with honor and integrity left?

[USAF80]

Is SCUD slang for potato?

[USAF80]

Another thought. The US official didn’t give his name because he was discussing classified information. Are there no US officials with honor and integrity left?

Military members are always warned never to talk to reporters. They have to be refered to the base Public Affairs office. The reason being reporters love to interview anyone they can find wearing a uniform and claim its an "official" source.

Reporters will call recruiting offices or bases to do telephone interviews. These interviews then become unnamed sources.

[EQAndyBuzz]

Didn’t America do this back in the 80’s when they sided with Al Queada against the Taliban?

Personally, I am rooting for Assad. Because if he loses, Jordan is next and that means radical Islam will be in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan with Saudi backing and is bordering Israel.

Not good.

[dennisw]

Hama Rules

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

In February 1982 the secular Syrian government of President Hafez al-Assad faced a mortal threat from Islamic extremists, who sought to topple the Assad regime. How did it respond? President Assad identified the rebellion as emanating from Syria's fourth-largest city — Hama — and he literally leveled it, pounding the fundamentalist neighborhoods with artillery for days. Once the guns fell silent, he plowed up the rubble and bulldozed it flat, into vast parking lots. Amnesty International estimated that 10,000 to 25,000 Syrians, mostly civilians, were killed in the merciless crackdown. Syria has not had a Muslim extremist problem since.

I visited Hama a few months after it was leveled. The regime actually wanted Syrians to go see it, to contemplate Hama's silence and to reflect on its meaning. I wrote afterward, "The whole town looked as though a tornado had swept back and forth over it for a week — but this was not the work of mother nature

This was "Hama Rules" — the real rules of Middle East politics — and Hama Rules are no rules at all.

[opentalk]

One of the comments at link:

Double standard at work here. When Assad to defend himself fires scud missles into jihadist we condemn him for killing the civilians amongst which the jihadists are hiding. Notice we DON'T Condemn the jihadist for using civilians as shields.

Now when we fire a Drone at a Jihadist is in house etc and have 'collateral damage" we condemn the jihadist for sheltering amongst civilians. But we are the "good" guys and are drone is a "good" drone doing good work.

NOTE THE DOUBLE STANDARDS -- When we do the same thing it is OK and good,but when Assad does it,it is evil and bad. In both cases the targets are Al Quaeda,Jihadists

…

[dennisw]

Personally, I am rooting for Assad. Because if he loses, Jordan is next and that means radical Islam will be in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan with Saudi backing and is bordering Israel.
Not good.

This is a Sunni vs Shiite power struggle and we are backing the Sunni. About five years ago Iran's top Muslim clerics gave their convoluted seal of approval to the offbeat Alewite branch of Islam that controls Syria. Assad's Alewites are only 10% of the population but so far manage to rule Syria and probably loot it for their tribe. Alewites revere Mother Mary and often have her depiction hanging in their house

[USAF80]

Something like that. More recent was the Bosnian fiasco where we sided with the muslims when the Christians started to beat them down.

[Strategerist]

The pro-Soviet Afghan army did the same when it was in its last days.

Wow, I'm impressed someone else had heard of that - SCUDs in Afghanistan have been forgotten. I only found out about it researching a paper I was writing on the Iran-Iraq War.

The Afghan government fired MORE SCUDs than anyone - including Iran and Iraq - have ever fired. If I recall correctly, they lobbed something like 1000+ SCUDs at the Mujahedin.

It's basically a terror weapon.

[justa-hairyape]

But Obama can make the claim and it will be unquestioned, and then we've got boots on the ground and we're fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with al Qaeda, knocking over one of the last secular regimes in the Middle East.

Not exactly. We will be fighting Assad's forces, while at the same time taking suicide hits from Jabhat al-Nusra. They have already stated after they finish with Assad, Americans are next. This is Iraq on steroids thanks to Obama/Hillary/Huma. BTW - Jabhat has just over run two WMD facilities in the north.