NATO TROOPS ALREADY IN SYRIA - STRATFOR

Undercover Nato troops are already in Syria despite denials from their parent governments, according to a leaked brief from a highly-placed analyst. The information comes from a hacked email from leading private US intelligence agency Stratfor, whose correspondence has been released by Wikileaks since February 27, Rt.com reported. The email is thought to be written from the address of Reva, the company's director of analysis, for internal use, and details a confidential Pentagon meeting in December. The consultation is alleged to have been attended by senior analysts from the US Air Force, and representatives from its chief allies, France and the United Kingdom. Western powers have categorically denied military involvement in Syria's internal conflict, for which they have no international mandate. But if the information contained in the letter is reliable, a radically different picture of Western activity in Syria emerges.
The author of the letter claims that US officials "said without saying that SOF [special operation forces] teams (presumably from the US, UK, France, Jordan and Turkey) are already on the ground, focused on recce [reconnaissance] missions and training opposition forces." A little later the US army experts expand on the role of the undercover commandos: "the idea 'hypothetically' is to commit guerrilla attacks, assassination campaigns, try to break the back of the Alawite forces, elicit collapse from within." Alawites are a minority Islamic sect, to which Syrian President Bashar Assad and his support base belong. For the past year he has battled an insurrection that has united a range of opponents, from pro-democracy activists to radical Sunni Muslims.
There have been previous allegations of a Western presence on the side of the rebels and on Monday 13 French officers were reportedly captured by the loyalist forces.
Despite the commandos' already wide remit, the email states that the US experts "stress that this is all being done as contingency planning, not as a move toward escalation."
If confirmed, the information will give ammunition to Russia and China, who have accused Western powers of paving the way for an invasion of Syria. These fears have already been cited as the reasons the two countries vetoed the US-backed UN resolution on Syria in February.

<< | Home | >>

Translate

RSS © Tert.am

Headlines for March 07, 2012

ARMENIAN PREMIER VISITS GYUMRI
Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan visited Gyumri. At his meeting with the local active members of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), the Armenian premier said: "We must ensure our citizens' ...
CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL'S SCANDALOUS REJECTION OF FRENCH GENOCIDE BILL
By Harut Sassounian Publisher, The California Courier Armenians in France and throughout the world reacted with utter indignation against the Constitutional Council's scandalous decision rejecting the ...
EARTHQUAKE IN ARMENIA
A 2.4-magnitude earthquake occurred in Armenia at 11:52pm, local time, on March 6. The earthquake focus was at a depth of 5km. The earthquake measured 3 on Richter scale at the epicenter, eight kilometers ...
ARMENIA LAGS BEHIND EUROPE IN GENDER EQUITY
In terms of gender equity Armenia lags behind the European average, but is in a better condition than its European neighbors, according to the Gender Equity Index (GEI) 2012. The index was published by ...
OBAMA REJECTS SYRIAN INTERVENTION PLAN
US President Barack Obama has described the situation in Syria as "heartbreaking" but said that unilateral US military intervention there would be a mistake, BBC News reported. Obama said President ...
AZERBAIJAN, GEORGIA TO ENSURE EUROPE'S ENERGY SECURITY
A Georgian-Azerbaijani bilateral meeting in Baku ended in the signing of several documents between the two states. Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, both countries presidents, Mikheil Saakashvili ...
ARMENIAN EXPERT EXPECTS NO PROGRESS IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH PEACE PROCESS AFTER RUSSIA ELECTIONS
No progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process should be expected after Vladimir Putin has been elected Russian president, the political scientist Stepan Grigoryan told journalists on Thursday. According ...
PEDHOPHILE VILLAGE GOVERNOR JAILED
The governor of Hartashen village, Azat Ghukasyan, was jailed on Tuesday over charges of raping a minor (Article 138.2 of Armenia's Criminal Code). Ghukasyan, who was also as a physical training teacher ...
NATO TROOPS ALREADY IN SYRIA - STRATFOR
1
Undercover Nato troops are already in Syria despite denials from their parent governments, according to a leaked brief from a highly-placed analyst. The information comes from a hacked email from leading ...
BOOKS TO BE AFFORDABLE IN ARMENIA
At the Armenian government's meeting early on Wednesday, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan asked Chairman of the State Commission for Protection of Economic Competition Artak Shaboyan to explain ...
ARMENIA WITHDRAWS FROM EUROVISION 2012
The Armenian Public Television has officially informed the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) of its withdrawal from the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, according to a statement on Eurovision's official ...
MEAT CONSUMPTION 181,000 TONS IN ARMENIA
Armenia's meat imports totaled 54,000 tons last year, with consumption totaling 127,000 tons, Grisha Baghyan, Armenia's Deputy Minister of Agriculture, told journalists on Wednesday. "We were unable ...
SARKOZY TO MEET FRENCH-ARMENIANS
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is going to receive representatives of the local Armenian community later today, a week after the country's Constitutional Council rejected the bill criminalizing the ...
TURKISH, AZERI FMS MEET IN NAKHICHEVAN
Turkish and French Foreign Ministers Ahmet Davutoglu and Elmar Mammadyarov have had a meeting in Nakhichevan. According to SalamNews.az, the two countries' top diplomats discussed joint cooperation issues ...
EXPERT ON RUSSIA'S INTERESTS IN ARMENIA
The political scientist Stepan Grigoryan does not think that the parliamentary elections in Armenia may be of great interest to Russia. "The presidential election is much more important for Russia. They ...
ARMENIA 44TH IN FIFA'S RANKING
Armenia ranked as the 44th country in FIFA's latest ranking published earlier today. The result is largely due last month's friendly matches with Serbia and Canada, which ended 0-2 and 3-1, respectively. ...
DAVUTOGLU-MAMMADYAROV-SALEHI MEETING BEGINS
The Azerbaijani, Turkish and Iranian foreign ministers have started their scheduled meeting in the Autonomous Republic of Nakhicevan. The three countries top diplomats - Elmar Mammadyarov, Ahmet Davutoglu ...
ARMENIAN PRESIDENT DELIVERS SPEECH AT KONRAD ADENAUER FOUNDATION IN BELGIUM
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, who is on a working visit to Belgium, was hosted at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The Armenian leader delivered a speech and answered the attendees' questions. ...
ARMENIAN YOUTH LAUNCH ACTIVE CAMPAIGN TO RETURN GODDESS ANAHIT'S STATUE
Over 20,000 young people from Armenia and the Diaspora launched a petition earlier this year to return the bronze-gilded statue of Goddess Anahit to its historical homeland. A crowd of young people gathered ...
PLASTIC SURGERIES COST CHEAPER IN ARMENIA
Cosmetic surgeries in Armenia are 4-5 times less costly compared to Europe and the United States, says Tigran Sargsyan, a plastic surgeon. "The lowest price for plastic nose surgeries here is 300,000 ...
TURKISH FM HOPEFUL TO SEE REGIONAL PROBLEMS SETTLED
Following a meeting with his Azerbaijani and Iranian counterparts in Nakhicevan, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu expressed hope that their discussion would positively affect the situation in ...
DEFENSE MINISTRY CELEBRATES WOMEN'S DAY (PHOTOS)
Ahead of Women's International Day, the Defense Ministry hosted ceremony to honor women's role in the military. Congratulating the servicewomen and female freedom fighters attending the event, Minister ...
SERZH SARGSYAN MEETS EPP PRESIDENT
As part of his official visit to Belgium, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan had a meeting with the leader of the European People's Party (EPP), Wilfried Martens. According to a press release by the Presidential ...