Civil War in Syria

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Syria shoots down Turkish F-4

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Red Cross states Syria is in civil war

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I'm reminded of this epic quote from Baghdad Bob:

"It has been rumored that we have fired scud missiles into Kuwait. I am here now to tell you, we do not have any scud missiles and I don't know why they were fired into Kuwait."

Weren't most of those missiles not Scuds anyway?

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Regime describes battle in Aleppo as "Mother of All Battles" as Regime simultaneously struggles to regain control of Damascus.

They're seriously quoting Saddam circa 1990?

I think it's a reference to the original Battle of al-Qadisiyyah, and that that name is sort of a cultural touchstone that both Assad and Saddam drew on independently, not a reference to Saddam.  I could be wrong, though.

Yes, that sounds right, although WaPo also notes Old Testament references.

Still, bad precedent...

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Rebels claim to have downed a Syrian jet

The footage is on YouTube and is already being linked to in other stories - it's a MiG-23BN, a supersonic ground-attack jet.

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How about dropping "bombs" that are just spray neutralizing agents into the air?

I'm pretty sure that sort of thing doesn't exist.

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With nerve agents, deploying antidotes is risky.  If you give yourself the antidote because you think you've come in contact with one, but you haven't, then you can potentially kill yourself that way as well.

Also, many of them kill too quickly for an antidote to be deployed.

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Syrian troops using killer gas bombs, says Syrian Observatory for Human Right

SYRIAN troops have deployed bombs containing a killer gas while fighting rebels in the central city of Homs.

"Activists in Homs say that six rebels died on Sunday night on the Khaldiyeh-Bayada frontline because they inhaled odourless gas and white smoke," said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists, lawyers and doctors to document Syria's raging conflict.

"Gas spread in the area after regime troops threw bombs that gave off white smoke as soon as they hit the walls," said the Observatory, which added the bombs were deployed during street clashes with the rebels.

"Those who inhaled the gas felt nauseous and suffered severe headaches. Some suffered fits," it added.

"These are not chemical weapons, but we do not know whether they are internationally prohibited," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.

"Activists say it is the first time they have recorded these effects," he added. "They are not conventional weapons."

The Observatory called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to urgently send a specialised medical team to Homs, several of whose districts have been besieged by army forces for more than six months.

The Local Co-ordination Committees also reported the use of "bombs containing gases" in Homs.

"These gases lead to muscle relaxation, severe difficulty in breathing and the narrowing of the iris," said the LCC, a grassroots network of peaceful activists.

Amateur video filmed by activists and distributed online by the LCC showed a man laid out on a stretcher struggling to breathe as an unidentified doctor held an oxygen mask over his face.

"It's definitely a poisonous gas, but we don't know what type it is," said a field doctor.

http://www.news.com.au/news/syrian-troops-using-killer-gas-bombs/story-fnehlez2-1226543183488

Does tear gas have that sort of effect?

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If this is true, it is time to intervene.

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Not really.  As it done so on previous occasions, Russia is already saying this was a false flag operation by the rebels.  This certainly won't get the UN involved. Nor do I see the US eager to bear the costs of policing this mess.  Europe may want to, but does it have the capability?

Of course it does; it's got carriers, it's got Tomahawks and its got a good deal of fighter jets.

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Actually the French played the main role in wiping out Gaddafi's air force, and that part of the operation went incredibly easy.

Also, for all the stuff that occurred later, the actual invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq went off with very few hitches.

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MSF says it has treated 3500 with symptoms consistent with that of chemical weapon exposure

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There never was a chance for a military trigger in the UN resolution.  So long as Obama does not concede the ability for the US to act without explicit UN authorization, then an attack is still possible if Assad, as expected, fails to live up to his part of the bargain.

If the Syrians don't comply, the US and Russia will go for a Chapter VII resolution

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Turkey has said its warplanes shot down a Syrian helicopter that violated its airspace.

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Well, they'll probably do a lot against IS, but the civilian casualties will probably be high.

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Interesting to see the Russians able again to perform (small) force projection, not so many years ago the general consensus in the military "world" was that their army is in shambles and unable to deploy. So I see the modernization process is starting to pay off

A few cruise missiles - even if I believe it is the first time the Russians have fired those in anger - don't mean that much.

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The story about Russia and Iran threatening force may well be fake.