ISRAEL EXPECTS CONGRESS TO APPROVE STRIKE ON SYRIA
Washington, 29 Syawwal 1434/5 September 1434 (MINA) – Israeli officials are expecting that US President Barack Obama will get Congressional approval for a military strike on Syria next week when the Congress reconvenes.
Israeli media reports said that the Israel lobby is working hard to convince lawmakers to support this decision.
Israelis initially criticized the Obama administration when he referred the approval of a military strike on Syria to the Congress last week, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) reported as monitored by (MINA) Mi’raj News Agency (4/9).
However former head of the Security and Foreign Affairs Committee in the Knesset Tzahi Hangbi told Israel’s military radio on Wednesday that calling the Obama administration “dead” was premature.
Hangbi, who is close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, praised Obama’s decision to seek congressional support.
He stated that Obama’s request would unite the administration and the congress, and the practical result of this step would be to widen the scope for any potential strike.
On the same way, the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) expressed its full support for U.S. President Barack Obama’s decisions on Syria.
The committee demanded in a statement, that members of the House of Representatives and Congress should approve a military strike against Syria and give Obama full authorisation to carry out the offense, Middle East Monitor reports.
AIPAC’s announcement was followed by a similar announcement from the Anti-Defamation League who also expressed their full support for Obama. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) expressed its strong support for Obama, saying, “We welcome President Obama’s demonstration of U.S. leadership in responding to the use of chemical weapons in Syria”.
AIPAC, the Anti- Defamation League and the Republican Jewish Coalition are the three largest and most influential Zionist lobbies in the U.S. The pro- Israel groups support a military strike against Syria.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that his country may support a Security Council resolution for a strike against Syria, but only if it can be proven that President Bashar al-Assad’s army used chemical weapons in Syria.
Russia has demanded convincing evidence that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons, Putin said. The country would not take decisive action unless evidence was presented to it.
Until now, US has not been able to show evidence of alleged chemical weapons in Syria. The UN investigation team stated that Bashar al-Assad regime has not use chemical weapons. Many experts believe that the U.S. used chemical weapons issues to intervene into Syria’s civil war for more than two years.
On the other hand, people around the world protests on US military attack plan on Syrian Government for the alleged chemical weapons use.
A poll conducted in France has revealed that 64 per cent of respondents reject military intervention in Syria.
Despite his vocal support for the US-proposed strike against the Assad regime in Damascus, a majority of the French people do not believe that President Francois Hollande will go ahead with it.
La Parisienne-Aujourd’hui newspaper published the PFA poll in which 58 per cent said that they have doubts about the president’s intention to actually participate in the US strike; 25 per cent fear that such an attack will engulf the whole Middle East in conflict. The poll was conducted following the British parliament’s rejection of government plans for military action against Syria.
Hollande told Le Monde on Friday that the British parliament’s decision will not influence France, which calls for an “appropriate and firm” move against Damascus. The French president added that he does not support an international intervention aimed at “liberating” Syria or overthrowing Assad, “but I think that a regime that commits such unforgivable crimes against its own people should be stopped”.
The United States announced that it was preparing for a limited military attack to punish President Bashar al-Assad in response to the brutal chemical weapons attack against civilians which killed more than 1,400 people in Damascus ten days ago. President Barack Obama has since confirmed that he will seek Congressional support for an attack before proceeding.
Meanwhile, protests erupted outside the White House on Saturday as President Barack Obama was announcing that he plans to seek congressional approval for a strike against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Middle East Monitor reports.
Hundreds of anti-war activists were chanting: “Hands off Syria now,” which could be heard outside the White House’s Rose Garden. (T/P012/P04)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
