Saturday, November 17, 2012

Pentagon: 75,000 Troops Will Be Needed To Seize Syria's Chemical Arms


Pentagon Says 75,000 Troops Might Be Needed to Seize Syria Chemical Arms -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has told the Obama administration that any military effort to seize Syria’s stockpiles of chemical weapons would require upward of 75,000 troops, amid increasing concern that the militant group Hezbollah has set up small training camps close to some of the chemical weapons depots, according to senior American officials.

he estimated size of the potential effort, provided to the White House by the military’s Central Command and Joint Staff, called into question whether the United States would have the resources to act quickly if it detected the movement of chemical weapons and forced President Obama, as he said in August, to “change my calculus” about inserting American forces into Syria. So far Mr. Obama has avoided direct intervention into the most brutal civil conflict to emerge from the Arab Spring uprisings, and the Pentagon assessment was seen as likely to reinforce that reluctance.

The White House on Thursday declined to comment on the Defense Department’s assessment.

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My Comment: I call this the nightmare scenario, especially if these weapon systems get into the hands of terror groups like Al Qaeda. As to the number 75,000 .... considering the mayhem that is occurring in Syria today, this number is on the low end of what would be needed.

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