Report: Over 10,000 US-NATO Troops Mass Ahead of Syria Invasion; Patriot Missiles Deployed in Turkey

Saturday, December 8, 2012 11:10

By M. Frank Drover
theintelhub.com

December 8, 2012

For the third time in as many decades the United States is massing soldiers and military assets on the border of a middle eastern country.

The USS Eisenhower, an American aircraft carrier that holds eight fighter bomber squadrons and 8,000 men, arrived at the Syrian coast yesterday in the midst of a heavy storm, indicating US preparation for a potential ground intervention.

While the Obama administration has not announced any sort of American-led military intervention in the war-torn country, the US is now ready to launch such action “within days…”

…If the US decides to intervene militarily in Syria, it now has at its disposal 10,000 fighting men, 17 warships, 70 fighter-bombers, 10 destroyers and frigates and a guided military cruises.

Some of the vessels are also equipped with Aegis missile interceptors to shoot down any missiles Syria might have at hand…

With mainstream reports alleging Syria is preparing to deploy sarin gas attached to bombs against rebels and populace areas in the country, the West and its allies is on a war-footing, ready to attack by sea or land:

NATO moved forward Thursday with its plan to place Patriot missiles and troops along Syria’s border with Turkey to protect against potential attacks.

Assad’s regime blasted the move as “psychological warfare,” saying the new deployment would not deter it from seeking victory over rebels it views as terrorists.

Whether the threat is real or just another WMD psychological operation on the order of Iraq is very quickly becoming irrelevant.

In fact, we may be so close to another mid-eastern war that Syrian President Bashir Al-Assad is emphatically trying to find an exit:

In a regional tour conducted last week, Syrian Vice-Minister of the Exterior Faisal al-Miqdad delivered requests on behalf of al-Assad to Venezuelan, Cuban, and Ecuadorian authorities.

The letters allegedly enquire into the possibility of asylum for al-Assad, his family, and a tightknit circle of advisors and collaborators.

Venezuelan authorities confirmed that President Hugo Chávez had received a letter from al-Assad before travelling to Cuba for continued cancer treatment.

And he’s not the only one trying to get out ahead of what is sure to be a massive bombardment should NATO forces decide to take preemptive action.

With war raging between rebels and the Assad government, thousands of refugees have been getting out of harm’s way since November:

Thousands of Syrians fled their country on Friday in one of the biggest refugee exoduses of the 20-month civil war…

An estimated four million people will need humanitarian aid by early nextyear when the country is in the grip of winter.

War is coming.

The same “intelligence” used to persuade Americans to invade Iraq is being used once again to justify intervention in Syria.

Likewise, the media propaganda machine that warned Americans of the dangers of Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction is blaring the sirens again.

Not much has changed, except that this time those who were against Bush’s war in 2003 are fully in support now that a democrat President says it’s the truth.

http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2012/12/report-over-10000-us-nato-troops-mass-ahead-of-syria-invasion-patriot-missiles-deployed-in-turkey-2-2510510.html

Obama administration aims to keep 10,000 troops in Afghanistan

By Agence France-Presse
Monday, November 26, 2012 1:03 EST

The administration of President Barack Obama aims to keep around 10,000 US troops in Afghanistan after formal combat operations in that country end in 2014, The Wall Street Journal reported late Sunday.

Citing unnamed senior US officials, the newspaper said the plan was in line with recommendations presented by General John Allen, commander of US and international forces in Afghanistan, who has proposed a force between 6,000 and 15,000 US troops.

This force will conduct training and counterterrorism operations after the Nato mission in Afghanistan formally concludes at the end of 2014, the report said.

About 67,000 US troops are currently deployed in Afghanistan alongside 37,000 coalition troops and 337,000 local soldiers and police that make up the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/11/26/obama-administration-aims-to-keep-10000-troops-in-afghanistan/

In Moscow: 10,000 Obama Backed Activists gathered to protest Putin and in support of Jailed Jew Khodorkovsky for president? That is one Bizarre event, who finances it?

Losing luster? Opposition protests in Moscow thinning

Published: 10 March, 2012, 07:50
Edited: 10 March, 2012, 20:30
Police say up to 10,000 people have attended a sanctioned meeting on Novy Arbat on Saturday afternoon
(7.8Mb) embed video

TRENDS: Election 2012
TAGS: Election, Russia, Protest, Politics, Egor Piskunov, Rory Suchet, Opposition

………
ON RUSSIA and THE WEST RELATION
In Russian
http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2011/12/land-destroyer-in-russian.html
In English
http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/search/label/Russia
http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/search/label/color%20revolutions

….

http://rt.com/news/opposition-russia-novy-arbat-245/

Far fewer people than expected turned up for a Saturday rally in central Moscow to protest the results of the recent presidential election, which saw Vladimir Putin winning in the first round with 63.6 per cent of the vote.

As usual, official estimates differed somewhat from the figures provided by activists. Police say some 10,000 people gathered in Moscow’s center to protest the presidential poll, while the rally leaders have put the count at up to 25,000. Wherever the true number may lie, the protest was projected to attract at least 50,000 people. Police had even expressed readiness to halt traffic in Novy Arbat Street if the crowd could no longer fit into the designated area.

Demonstrators started flocking to the venue at 12:30pm (08:30 GMT). The opposition’s full spectrum turned out – from the Left Front headed by Sergey Udaltsov and nationalists under empire flags to the communists and “street” independent activists, who made up the core of the December protests.
Numerous banners read: “This is no president, this is no election”, “Khodorkovsky instead of Putin”, “We have seen worse instances, but never so blatant.” The signature of the movement “For Fair Elections” – ribbons, scarves and other tokens, all white – flickered everywhere.

Watch RT’s Egor Piskunov report on the opposition rally

embed video

The activists believe the presidential poll was rigged with various techniques to ensure Putin’s landslide victory. In December the same, they believe, was done for the United Russia Party to scoop a majority in the lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma.

Saturday’s rally reaffirmed the slogans created in December, transferring them onto the presidential poll: election results should be annulled; election violators should be punished; Russia needs heavy political reform; political detainees should be released from jail.

“We will strive for snap elections to take place: parliamentary in one year’s time, presidential in two years,” says opposition politician Vladimir Ryzhkov.

Ryzhkov called for a new protest on May 7 – the date when President-elect Vladimir Putin will be sworn in. Leftist Udaltsov urged a March of Millions before that day.

The opposition is now going to file official suits on election violations charges.

The rally wrapped up an hour earlier than it was supposed to. Police detained three people, including Udaltsov, over an attempt to stage an unsanctioned march after the rally.

Explaining the lower turnout, rally leaders say it was a very good result for the third day of a holiday. Russia has been marking International Women’s Day and many will be spending Sunday at work due to calendar rearrangements.

But political analysts say the movement is losing its gusto.
“One million to march?

No, there will be much fewer demonstrators than what we saw in winter. The opposition just does not have enough demands to conduct a protest. What can they demand? Annulling election results? Even institutions which are clearly no fans of Mr. Putin acknowledge he has won the poll with over 50 per cent of the vote. There are no demands, and I can see no one in the opposition who could put forward any demand,” director of the International Institute for Political Expertise Evgeny Minchenko told Interfax news agency.
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Activists pledge to go on with their struggle to annul the results of the parliamentary and presidential elections in Russia (RT photo / Irina Vasilevitskaya)

Saturday demo follows the massive opposition rally “For Fair Elections” that took place on Monday in the Russian capital after the Sunday vote. Between 14,000 and 20,000 people attended demonstrations at Pushkinskaya Square. Police briefly detained some 250 people, including Udaltsov and prominent whistle-blowing blogger Aleksey Navalny.

Despite reports of voting irregularities, the international community has accepted the results of Russia’s presidential elections. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Vladimir Putin a “clear winner.”
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Closer to the stage, numerous orange flags of the democratic coalition Solidarnost (Solidarity) can be seen (RT photo / Irina Vasilevitskaya)

By 2pm (Moscow time) police have counted over 10,000 people at the venue (RT photo / Irina Vasilevitskaya)

Police had to bolster their forces on Saturday all across Moscow. They had been tipped off about provocations which could follow the core event (RT photo / Irina Vasilevitskaya)

White is the symbol of the movement “For Fair Elections” (RT photo / Irina Vasilevitskaya)

Banner reads: “Citizen-Election Observer” (RT photo / Irina Vasilevitskaya)

“Will we come back?” – “Yes!” (RT photo / Irina Vasilevitskaya)

Panorama (Click to enlarge)