Will There Be A No-Fly Zone Over Syria?

Tim Eaton, BBC/Chatham House: Should there be a no-fly zone over Syria?

US Secretary of State John Kerry last week reportedly instructed his staff to revisit plans for the establishment of a no-fly zone over Syria.

Influential figures such as former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have long supported the establishment of a no-fly zone, but the White House has been reticent.

Mr Kerry's comments now revive one of the longest-running policy debates of the Syrian civil war, and also one of the most opaque.

Update: Obama up against growing support for a no-fly zone in Syria (CBS)

WNU Editor: Any proposition for a no-fly zone in Syria is DOA. But there are some who are still pushing for this no-fly zone .... UK should 'enforce Syria no-fly zone even if Russia vetoes UN resolution' (The Guardian) .... even though Russia has made it very clear that it they will not respect this zone.

Is The West About To Make A Deal With Syrian President Assad?

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during an interview with a Russian newspaper in Damascus, in this handout photograph distributed by Syria's national news agency SANA on August 26, 2013. Credit: Reuters/SANA/Handout via Reuters

British Intelligence Said To Be In Talks With Assad -- Times of Israel/AFP

Despite assertion by US and UK denying coordination with Syrian regime, discussions have been going on for months, report says

The British MI6 spy agency was reportedly engaged in months-long talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime in the lead-up to the Western military campaign against the Islamic State group.

Officers from the agency have been conducting discussions in Damascus with members of Assad’s intelligence network as well as senior Syrian diplomats, despite a recent assertion by British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond that a pact with the dictator would not be “practical, sensible or helpful,” the Mirror newspaper reported.

The United States has also denied any coordination with the Syrian government or its close ally Iran regarding the air campaign against the Islamic State, which has carved out a large swath of territory in Syria and Iraq and declared an Islamic caliphate there, killing thousands of people in the process.

Read more ....

My Comment: I am not surprised that there are talks .... I just like to know what are the details of these talks. Is this just a means to tell Assad to back-off as U.S. and coalition planes bomb the Islamic State, or is this leading to something more deeper .... like a deal to keep Assad in power.

U.K. Planned To Train And Equip 100,000 Syrian Rebels

Rebel fighters prepare to fire a Grad rocket towards forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the countryside of the coastal city of Latakia. Reuters

Syria Conflict: UK Planned To Train And Equip 100,000 Rebels -- BBC

The UK drew up plans to train and equip a 100,000-strong Syrian rebel army to defeat President Bashar al-Assad, BBC Newsnight can reveal.

The secret initiative, put forward two years ago, was the brainchild of the then most senior UK military officer, General Sir David Richards.

It was considered by the PM and the National Security Council, as well as US officials, but was deemed too risky.

The UK government did not respond to a request for comment.

Lord Richards, as he is now, believed his proposal could stem the civilian bloodshed in Syria as rebels fought troops loyal to Mr Assad.

The idea was considered by David Cameron and Dominic Grieve, the attorney general, and sent to the National Security Council, Whitehall sources said.

Read more ....

More News On Britain's Plans To Train And Equip 100,000 Syrian Rebels

Britain planned to train and equip 100,000 Syrian rebels -- The Telegraph
UK military's secret plan to train Syrian rebels to topple Bashar al-Assad -- The Guardian
Secret UK plan to ‘train 100,000 Syria rebels’ exposed -- Al Arabiya
Britain drew up 'shock and awe' plan to train and equip 100,000 Syrian rebels, march on Damascus and overthrow Assad -- Daily Mail
UK had plan to train and equip 100,000 Syrian rebels - BBC -- Reuters
UK drew up plans in 2012 to train, equip 100 K Syrian rebels -- Business Standard
UK Drew Up 'Clandestine Plan' to Train 100,000 Anti-Assad Rebels -- IBTimes

Are Syrian Warplanes Testing British Air Defenses In Cyprus?

Image from The Daily Mail

Syrian Warplanes Test British Air Defenses in Cyprus -- Arutz Sheva

RAF Typhoon fighters recently won a mid-air showdown with two Syrian warplanes heading towards Britain’s base in Cyprus.

RAF Typhoon fighters won a mid-air showdown with two Syrian warplanes heading towards Britain’s main base in Cyprus, the Sunday People reports.

The dramatic confrontation came after President Bashar Al-Assad’s air chiefs sent two Russian-made Sukhoi Su-24s to probe British air defenses, the report said.

The Syrian bombers refused to respond to repeated attempts by the control tower at the UK’s Akrotiri air base to contact them.

RAF pilots flying the advanced combat jet were scrambled before the Sukhois could enter our 14-mile air exclusion zone.

Read more ....

More News On Reports That Syrian Warplanes Are Testing British Air Defenses In Cyprus

British jets in Cyprus scrambled to chase after Syrian planes that crossed into international airspace -- Daily Mail
Syrian warplanes flee after testing defences at British air base in Cyprus -- Mirror.co.uk
RAF Scrambles Typhoons Amid Syria Tensions -- SKY News
UK Royal Air Force Jets Chase Away Syrian Warplanes Approaching Cyprus -- Algemeiner
British jets in Syrian air fight threat -- Daily Star

WNU Editor: Hat Tip to regular reader Luis Ferreira for this tip.

British Companies Sold Poison Gas Chemicals To Syria For Years

Britain Sent Poison Gas Chemicals To Assad: Proof That The UK Delivered Sarin Agent To Syrian Regime For SIX Years -- Daily Mail

* British companies delivered sodium flouride to Syrian firm from 2004-2010
* The chemical is a key component in manufacture of nerve gas
* Sale has been blasted as 'grossly irresponsible' in light of chemical attacks
* Intelligence expert says substance will have been diverted to regime

British companies sold chemicals to Syria that could have been used to produce the deadly nerve agent that killed 1,400 people, The Mail on Sunday can reveal today.

Between July 2004 and May 2010 the Government issued five export licences to two companies, allowing them to sell Syria sodium fluoride, which is used to make sarin.

The Government last night admitted for the first time that the chemical was delivered to Syria – a clear breach of international protocol on the trade of dangerous substances that has been condemned as ‘grossly irresponsible’.

Read more ....

More News On British Companies Selling Poison Gas Chemicals To Syria For Years

UK firms supplied chemicals to Syria with Government permission before conflict -- London Evening Standard
Syria chemical sale probe urged -- Express.co.uk
UK delivered Syria chemicals needed for sarin production ‘for 6 years’ -- RT
UK confirms sale of chemicals by its firms to Syria -- Indian Express
Syria chemical sale probe urged -- Belfast Telegraph
Report: UK companies sold poison gas chemicals to Assad’s regime -- Al Arabiya
Did British Government Help Assad Launch Syrian Chemical Attack With Sodium Fluoride Sale? -- Huffington Post

Britain Sold Nerve Gas Chemicals To Syria 10 months Into The Uprising

Bodies of people said to have been killed by nerve gas in the Ghouta region of Damascus Photo: Reuters

Revealed: Britain Sold Nerve Gas Chemicals To Syria 10 Months After War Began -- Daily Record

FURIOUS politicians have demanded Prime Minister David Cameron explain why chemical export licenses were granted to firms last January – 10 months after the Syrian uprising began.

BRITAIN allowed firms to sell chemicals to Syria capable of being used to make nerve gas, the Sunday Mail can reveal today.

Export licences for potassium fluoride and sodium fluoride were granted months after the bloody civil war in the Middle East began.

The chemical is capable of being used to make weapons such as sarin, thought to be the nerve gas used in the attack on a rebel-held Damascus suburb which killed nearly 1500 people, including 426 children, 10 days ago.

President Bashar Assad’s forces have been blamed for the attack, leading to calls for an armed response from the West.

Read more ....

More News On Reports That Britain Sold Nerve Gas Chemicals To Syria 10 months Into The Uprising

Government allowed export of nerve gas chemicals to Syria -- The Telegraph
Ministers face questions over licensing of chemical exports to Syria -- The Guardian
Government let British company export nerve gas chemicals to Syria -- The Independent
Anger at Syria chemicals trade deal -- Belfast Telegraph

Update: 'Sarin chemicals' export claim rejected by UK -- BBC

Britain Re-Establishes High-Level Intelligence Links With Syria

From Times Online:

Britain re-established high-level intelligence links with the Syrian authorities as David Miliband made his landmark visit to Damascus yesterday, according to senior Syrian officials.

The move, first raised earlier this year at a meeting in New York between the Foreign Secretary and his Syrian counterpart, Walid Moualem, was a key objective of the Syrian visit. The newly revived intelligence relationship could be hugely beneficial to Britain. Syria is known to have one of the best intelligence-gathering systems in the Middle East, in particular in tracking the movements of Islamic extremists into Iraq and around the region.

Read more ....