US forces buildup on Syrian Border

US forces staging huge buildup just outside the Syrian border, including massing of M1 Abrams Tanks, AH64 Apache attack helicopters, and A-10 Tank Killers.

Not long now...

www.worldtribune.com...

Dragonrider your links article is about......

U.S. destroys meeting it believes included Saddam, top aides

Hmmm... odd, this is what I get when I go there...

U.S. concentrating forces near Syrian border



SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Wednesday, April 16, 2003
The United States has bolstered its military presence near the Iraqi- Syrian border.

U.S. officials said Central Command has ordered a buildup of assets in western Iraq. They said the buildup is centered at Al Rutba and includes M1A1 main battle tanks, AH-64A attack helicopters and A-10 ground-support fighter-jets.

The U.S. move aims to prevent the escape of Iraqi leaders and nonconventional military assets to Syria. They said U.S. forces will also ensure that Arab foreign volunteers based in Syria will be captured as soon as they enter Iraq.


Officials have assured Syria that the military buildup is not meant against the regime of President Bashar Assad. But Coalition forces have already attacked Iraqi targets within 10 kilometers of the Syrian border.
Officials said Syria has been harboring hundreds of regime leaders and insurgents connected to Saddam. One of them, they said, is Farouq Hijazi, an Iraqi intelligence agent and said to have led a plot to kill the father of President George Bush, who was also president, after the 1991 Gulf war.

Officials said the U.S. deployment near the Syrian border has been enhanced by cooperation from Iraqi tribes. They said U.S. special operations units are now located along such key routes as Highway 10, Highway 11 as well as around the northwestern town of Al Qaim. On Tuesday, an Iraqi army unit located near Al Qaim and said to have contained 16,000 troops formally surrendered to U.S. forces.

"We have forces that are located in a number of places along the Syrian border with Iraq," Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks, deputy operations chief at U.S. Central Command said on Tuesday. "We have vehicle checkpoints that are located along some of the key routes. In the northwest area, Al Qaim is an important area for us. We have a presence there, at that very important crossing point. We are located in other areas as well that I would not want to be too specific about at this point."

"We have concerns about Syria," U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said. "We have let Syria know of our concerns. But there is no list, there is no war plan right now to go attack someone else, either for the purpose of overthrowing their leadership or for the purpose of imposing democratic values."

Earlier, Powell raised the prospect that the United States would impose sanctions on Syria for its help to the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

So far, the United States has shut down the Iraqi-Syrian oil pipeline, which produced revenues of about $1.2 billion a year for the Assad regime.

Since 2000, the pipeline had brought up to 250,000 barrels of Iraqi oil per day to Syria, which were then sold abroad.

"We have been told that they have shut off a pipeline," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said. "Whether it's the only one, and whether that has completely stopped the flow of oil between Iraq and Syria, I cannot tell you. We do not have perfect knowledge. We do know that they were instructed to shut it down, and they have told us that they have."

But Rumsfeld refused to discuss details of any plans to pressure Syria to surrender Iraqi weapons of mass destruction scientists. He said such decisions would be discussed by President George Bush and Powell.

"I don't have anything else to add on that," the defense secretary said. "The president's spoken on it. Secretary Powell has spoken on it. I'll leave that to them."

In an unrelated development, the United States has begun to withdraw more than 1,000 troops from Turkey. The Turkish military General Staff said in a statement on Tuesday that 1,166 U.S. soldiers would be flown out of the Incerlik air force base in southern Turkey by Wednesday.

The U.S. soldiers were part of a support effort for coalition air attacks on neighboring Iraq. They also helped establish supply routes to northern Iraq.

The Turkish statement said U.S. military equipment and supplies will be shipped out of the Turkish port of Iskenderun between April 15-23. U.S. officials said the no-fly zone in northern Iraq has also been discontinued. They said up to 50 U.S. combat jets deployed at Turkey's Incerlik air base have been redeployed.

"We have shut down Operation Northern Watch," Rumsfeld said. "The assets that were there for that purpose have been redeployed. We have not made final decisions with respect to the footprint of the United States in that part of the world, and won't for some months."

we all knew it was a matter of time. just wait, in a few days we'll see, bombs exploding over damuscus. scuds filled with chemical or biological weapons into israel maybe? all i know is that this day would come sooner or later. next shall be iran. then anyone else who thinks they can take us. but will the world stand by and appease us as they did hitler?

Dragonrider this is an articel about the US sending forces to stop boarder crossings, What makes you think that those troops will be used to attack Syria?

I could say just a hunch, or also the fact that Syria supports converting the oil standard currency to the Euro.

Also, you dont normally need an entire fleet of A-10s to act as border patrol.

this is way too much firepower to merely prevent border crossings. M1 Abrams Tanks, AH64 Apache attack helicopters, and A-10 Tank Killers. more than enough to combat a small unconspicuous convoy to get some dude across a border. no i think it will be used for something more.

Keep in mind they are trying to secure the entire
boader. Outside of placing out toops one by one
across the total distance of the boarder, how else
would one make certain no one got across.

"We have concerns about Syria," U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said. "We have let Syria know of our concerns. But there is no list, there is no war plan right now to go attack someone else, either for the purpose of overthrowing their leadership or for the purpose of imposing democratic values."

Again Gentlemen the article speaks for itself.

[Edited on 16-4-2003 by Toltec]

Toltec, are you a betting man?

Dragonrider you want to make a bet that the USA is planing a surprise attack agaisnt Syria?

I mean after what Collin Powell said that is what it would be.

Dragonrider what was the last time something like that that happened in respect to US history?

[Edited on 16-4-2003 by Toltec]

Dragonrider what was the last time something like that that happened in respect to US history? Posted by Toltec

We are making history, and consequently, making up the rules as we go.

Nontheless its seems very much that the decision has already been made.

Historically the US has been attacked by suprise the response was to view the behavior as cowardice.

Your suggestion would imply that the US which has made this statement, time and time again since Pearl Harbor would now deem such behavior as what?

Even the Boston tea party made clear to England the colonies intent.

I my opinion you are mistaken and for the record beyond the state lottery I do not gamble (It supports education so its for a good cause).


From my understanding we have no intention of invading anyone without making our intent very, very clear as in beyond any shadow of doubt.

Would site that Iraq has been expecting this recent attack (by there own words) for over a year.


[Edited on 17-4-2003 by Toltec]

contrary to common thought bush isn't stupid
he knows the invading syria would turn alot of pro-bush people against him

Originally posted by Toltec
Dragonrider this is an articel about the US sending forces to stop boarder crossings, What makes you think that those troops will be used to attack Syria?

Stopping border crossings is a pretext for the build up. The US builds up..rhetoric coming from the White House ratchets up... both sides get nervous... some poor schmo in an Apache opens fire on Syrian refugees out of fear that it could be an attack... Syria screams bloody murder.. Saddam tapes surface that can be pegged to Syrian territory and we go in to get him. Syria launches scuds at Israel and they enter the fray, dragging the rest of the ME in against the US and Israel (the UK have I am guessing, wisely backed out at this point).

The ME becomes the biblical bornagain Christian Armegeddon, paving the way for the anti-christ. For most fundamentalists it is all for Israel, they are the Alpha and the Omega of God's reign.

I spoke with a guy in one of my grad classes today who left seminary (a hardcore conservative Baptist seminary). He reads alot of biblical prophecy for research (he focuses on US religous traditions) and he said todays events and knowing the presidents faction of Christianity he is becoming convinced that Bush (or someone who has alot of influence over him) is trying to force armegeddon so God can come back.

Scary scary stuff how close we are to the precipace.

Hey observer as far as the biblical text would remind your friend of the issue of Babylon and how after her defeat all feared those who had defeated her.


Again in order for the US to attack Syria by surprise it would have to go against a policy which in fact, never in its history has it ever gone against. Such an event would go against the very fiber this country was based upon. Never in the history of this planet has America responded to an actuall threat in this way.


Those who this county has classified as our enemy, has been given ample time to be aware of our intent. What you are implying is the something will go wrong, my question to you is in your opinion is it possible that something went wrong during the cold war?

Syria is not the Soviet Union in her territory is not hidden thousands of Nuclear Weapons with Multiple Independent Re-entry Vehicles (in the case of ICBMs).

If some poor shmo makes a mistake it will be no different that the poor shmos's who made a mistake during the cold war (on either side during the cold war).

If some poor shmo makes a mistake it will be no different that the poor shmos's who made a mistake during the cold war (on either side during the cold war). Posted by Toltec

Such "schmos" making mistakes is how we got into the VietNam war... remember the Gulf of Tonkin Incident?

Dragon rider,

There is no doubt Bush is going to Syria, he and his clowns are starting the same talk WMD, Terrorists, Liberation of Syria.

He has not one damn good reason for it, just like Iraq, just change the reason till it sells. His supporters are burning up the radio and TV airwaves, preparing us for his move.

There is nothing that can be done to halt this administrations actions, all we can do is watch.
Speaking of which, have you noticed our news coverage of Iraq was Sanitized, in that the thousands of Iraqies killed in battle were never shown, I actually never did see any dead, other than the POW pictures early in the war, No bodies, No Blood, just quick clean protective actions. I feel Ive been hoodwinked, and still playing us like puppets.

Thanks for the post.
Keep safe, stay alert

I suspect that the numbers and the location will have more to do with anticipated strategy in Iraq than any intention of levelling Damascus.
I also think that America is playing, rather successfully, a diplomatic game of convincing certain foreign nations that Bush-2 may just be mad and trigger-happy. This seems to be working as far as N. Korea is concerned and I also suspect that this posturing will not be entirely irrelevant as far as Israeli tactics in Palestine and Lebanon are concerned.

And for younger posters who may not immediately register the significance of Dragon-R's reference to the Gulf of Tonkin: this is well worth a detailed search a splendid chapter in the history of dirty deeds and skulduggery.