U.S. Marines (Reuters/Muhammad Hamed – think IN pictures @1WORLDCommunity)
MADAyuMadyan - 75,000 tentera diperlukan untuk menjamin senjata kimia jika Damsyik jatuh. Potensi strategik serangan Amerika Syarikat di Syria telah mencetuskan kebimbangan senjata kimia Damsyik boleh jatuh ke tangan yang salah jika kerajaan digulingkan. Satu laporan baru-baru ini berkata, kongres 75,000 tentera akan diperlukan untuk melindungi WMD cache .
Penyelidikan Pusat Kongres (CRS) laporan yang dikeluarkan hanya satu hari sebelum 21 Ogos dikatakan serangan senjata kimia di pinggir bandar Damsyik, telah disusun dengan tujuan untuk” bertindak balas kepada senario yang mungkin melibatkan penggunaan, perubahan tangan, atau kehilangan kawalan senjata kimia Syria.”
Ia menyatakan bahawa stok simpanan senjata kimia di Syria, yang laporan perisikan Perancis baru-baru ini dianggarkan lebih 1,000 tan, telah dijamin oleh pasukan khas Syria.
“Oleh kerana yang mendesak menghalang akses kepada senjata oleh kumpulan-kumpulan yang tidak dibenarkan, termasuk pengganas, kerajaan Amerika Syarikat telah menyediakan untuk senario untuk mendapatkan senjata sekiranya kehilangan rejim Assad, kawalan,” dokumen itu berbunyi
Memberi keterangan di hadapan Jawatankuasa Angkatan Bersenjata Senat pada 7 Mac , 2012, ketika itu Setiausaha Pertahanan Leon Panetta memberi amaran kepada penyingkiran Assad akan membentangkan senario “100 kali lebih teruk daripada apa yang kita diperkatakan di Libya.”
Dalam usaha untuk mendapatkan 50 senjata kimia dan tapak pengeluaran tersebar di seluruh Syria, sebagai tambahan kepada simpanan dan kemudahan penyelidikan , “The Pentagon telah dianggarkan bahawa ia akan mengambil masa lebih daripada 75,000 tentera untuk meneutralkan senjata kimia,” dokumen ini berterusan, memetik Februari 2012 CNN laporan.
Sementara itu , satu resolusi menyokong penggunaan kekerasan terhadap kerajaan Presiden Bashar Assad, dibersihkan Senat Jawatankuasa Hubungan Luar Negeri pada undi 10-7 pada Rabu, walaupun seksyen 3 draf kononnya menolak operasi tempur Amerika Syarikat di atas tanah.
Kata-kata teks, bagaimanapun, berpotensi membenarkan tentera atas alasan demi operasi bukan menyinggung perasaan, termasuk mendapatkan stok simpanan senjata kimia dan kemudahan pengeluaran.
75,000 troops needed to secure chemical weapons
if Damascus falls . . .
The potential of strategic US strikes in Syria has sparked fears Damascus’ chemical weapons could fall into the wrong hands if the government is toppled. A recent congressional report says 75,000 troops would be needed to safeguard the WMD caches.
The Congressional Research Center (CRS) report, issued just one day before the alleged August 21 chemical weapons attack in a Damascus suburb, was compiled with the aim of “responding to possible scenarios involving the use, change of hands, or loss of control of Syrian chemical weapons.”
It states that Syria’s chemical weapon stockpiles, which a French intelligence report recently estimated at over 1,000 tons, have been secured by Syrian special forces.
“Due to the urgency of preventing access to these weapons by unauthorized groups, including terrorists, the United States government has been preparing for scenarios to secure the weapons in the event of the Assad regime’s loss of control,” the document reads
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 7, 2012, then-Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta warned the ouster of Assad would present a scenario “100 times worse than what we dealt with in Libya.”
In order to secure the 50 chemical weapon and production sites spread across Syria, in addition to storage and research facilities, “The Pentagon has estimated that it would take over 75,000 troops to neutralize the chemical weapons,” the document continues, citing a February 2012 CNN report.
Meanwhile, a resolution backing the use of force against President Bashar Assad's government cleared the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on a 10-7 vote on Wednesday, although section 3 of the draft ostensibly ruled out US combat operations on the ground.
The wording of the text, however, could potentially allow for troops on the ground for the sake of non-offensive operations, including securing chemical weapons stockpiles and production facilities.
Setiausaha Negara Amerika Syarikat, John Kerry bertindak balas kerana dia menunggu Setiausaha Pertahanan Amerika Syarikat Chuck Hagel dan General Martin Dempsey, Pengerusi Ketua Turus Bersama, tiba kerana beliau muncul di Amerika Syarikat House Jawatankuasa Hal Ehwal Luar pendengaran ke atas Syria di Capitol Hill di Washington, September 4, 2013. (Reuters/Jason Reed – think IN pictures @1WORLDCommunity)
Walaupun jawatankuasa Senat pada mulanya memilih untuk menghadkan penglibatan tentera Amerika Syarikat di negara ini kepada 90 hari dengan tiada potensi operasi tanah, Republikan Senator John McCain bergabung dengan Demokratik Senator Chris Coons untuk menambah peruntukan menyeru “perubahan penting kepada baki semasa tentera kuasa di atas tanah di Syria.”
Vacillations pentadbiran Obama ke atas Syria yang mungkin terbaik yang ditunjukkan oleh Setiausaha Negara John Kerry. Bercakap sebelum Senat Jawatankuasa Hubungan Luar Negeri pada hari Selasa, Kerry mencadangkan ia akan lebih baik untuk memberikan White House kuasa untuk menghantar tentera darat sekiranya Syria “imploded” atau jika senjata kimia adalah pada risiko yang diperolehi oleh pelampau.
“Saya tidak mahu mengambil dari jadual pilihan yang mungkin atau mungkin tidak ada kepada presiden Amerika Syarikat untuk memastikan negara kita,” katanya kepada jawatankuasa itu dalam jangka masa sehingga undi.
Selepas diberitahu oleh Senator Bob Corker - Republikan teratas dalam jawatankuasa - sentimen beliau mengenai but atas alasan tidak “jawapan yang sangat sesuai,” Kerry cepat mundur.
“Mari kita menutup pintu sekarang,” kata Kerry. “Jawapannya ialah, apa jua larangan menjelaskan kepada Kongres atau rakyat Amerika, tidak akan ada but Amerika di atas tanah yang berkaitan dengan perang saudara.”
Setelah jawatankuasa dibersihkan, langkah yang membenarkan kuasa di Syria dijangka mencapai tingkat Senat minggu depan. Senator Rand Paul, sebuah republik dengan hubungan yang kuat kepada pergerakan Parti Teh, mengugut penghalang itu.
While the Senate committee initially opted to limit US military involvement in the country to 90 days with no potential of ground operations, Republican Senator John McCain joined forces with Democratic Senator Chris Coons to add a provision calling for "decisive changes to the present military balance of power on the ground in Syria."
The Obama administration’s vacillations on Syria were perhaps best exemplified by Secretary of State John Kerry. Speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, Kerry suggested it would be preferable to give the White House the power to send in ground forces in the event that Syria “imploded” or if chemical weapons were at risk of being obtained by extremists.
"I don't want to take off the table an option that might or might not be available to a president of the United States to secure our country," he told the committee in the run up to the vote.
After being told by Senator Bob Corker – the top Republican on the committee – his sentiments regarding boots on the ground were not “a very appropriate response,” Kerry quickly backtracked.
"Let's shut the door now," Kerry said. "The answer is, whatever prohibition clarifies it to Congress or the American people, there will not be American boots on the ground with respect to the civil war."
Having cleared committee, the measure authorizing force in Syria is expected to reach the Senate floor next week. Senator Rand Paul, a republican with strong ties to the Tea Party movement, has threatened a filibuster.
