Senior White House official tells reporters that the Pentagon is looking into plans to strike Syrian military installations, though a ground offensive looks unlikely.
The U.S. in stepping up planning for military intervention in Syria, CNN reported on Monday. The report quoted a senior administration official as saying that “there is intensified planning in the works as more precise information comes in on the Syrian regime’s potential use of chemical weapons and the body of evidence grows.”
A UH-1N Huey with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit flies past the USS Rushmore, in the South Arabian Gulf, March 29, 2013. – Photo: AP
According to the official and other sources quoted in the report, it is unlikely that the U.S. will launch a ground offensive, rather it may launch a strike from a distance using cruise missiles and fighter jets.
On Monday, a senior Israeli security figure told Haaretz that Israel has no interest in pushing the United States to act now on Syria and to deal with the chemical weapons in the possession of the Assad regime.
According to the senior figure, Israel does not want to be perceived as warmongering; Israel wants from now on to keep a low profile with regard to Syrian chemical weapons and to leave up to the Americans the decision on how and when to act.
View original HAARETZ publication at: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-stepping-up-plans-for-possible-military-intervention-in-syria-report-says-1.518419
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