US, Western Allies Escalate Syria War Talk, Meetings

Local Editor

CNN reported Thursday that ships armed with cruise missiles plow the waters of the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

It further mentioned that US Cabinet-level officials hold a National Security Council meeting at the White House Tuesday night. "And US officials all but tell UN inspectors in Syria to get out of the way," the channel mentioned.

Meanwhile, security officials in London meet Wednesday to hash out options.
"We clearly value the UN's work -- we've said that from the beginning -- when it comes to investigating chemical weapons in Syria. But we've reached a point now where we believe too much time has passed for the investigation to be credible and that it's clear the security situation isn't safe for the team in Syria," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said Tuesday.
This comes as US War Secretary Chuck Hagel told the BBC on Tuesday that "forces are ready, if an order to strike comes down."

A senior War Dept. official told CNN that any strike could be completed "within several days."
On Wednesday, Australia said it won't sent troops. But the British Prime Minister's office was more circumspect in its statement.
"The PM confirmed that the Government had not yet taken a decision on the specific nature of our response, but that it would be legal and specific to the chemical weapons attack," it said Wednesday morning.

Along with Britain, France has also signaled it would join a Western military intervention against Syria.
French President Francois Hollande claimed Tuesday that France is "ready to punish those who made the decision to gas these innocent people."
NATO ambassadors are to take up the topic of Syria at their regular Wednesday meeting.
Obama continues to review options, Carney said, adding "nothing has been decided."

Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island believes that the most realistic option would be cruise missiles launched from US Navy ships at sea, noting that "we can have precision weapons that could be fired and keep our aircraft out of Syrian airspace and away from their anti-aircraft systems."
"The most effective targets would have command-and-control, because you could send a signal to the Syrian regime that if they don't agree to international standards, if they don't make it clear and make it obvious that they're not going to use these weapons, and that we can inflict additional damage on their command-and-control," he added.

In parallel, a group of 31 Republican and six Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday sent a letter to the Obama urging him "to consult and receive authorization" before signing off on any military action.

Source: CNN, Edited by website team