Kerry opens door to 'boots on ground' in Syria, then slams it shut

Kerry initially told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee he would prefer not to bar the use of ground troops in Syria to preserve President Barack Obama's options if Syria "imploded" or there was a threat of chemical weapons being obtained by extremists.
"I don't want to take off the table an option that might or might not be available to a president of the United States to secure our country," Kerry told the committee.
But when Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, the top Republican on the committee, told Kerry he "didn't find that a very appropriate response regarding boots on the ground," Kerry quickly, and repeatedly, backtracked.
Kerry said he was simply "thinking out loud" and raising a hypothetical situation, but he did not want to leave the door open to sending ground troops to Syria.
"Let's shut the door now," Kerry said. "The answer is, whatever prohibition clarifies it to Congress or the American people, there will not be American boots on the ground with respect to the civil war."

source reuters.com

pro-Israel lobby group backs action in Syria

The influential pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC urged U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday to approve a resolution allowing the Obama administration to retaliate for chemical weapons use in Syria.

"America's allies and adversaries are closely watching the outcome of this momentous vote," AIPAC said in the letter signed by its president, Michael Kassen, and chief executive, Howard Kohr.

Members of Obama's administration have been urging lawmakers to back intervention, often making the case that failure to act against Syria would endanger Israel by allowing instability on its borders and emboldening Iran, which western powers believe is developing nuclear weapons,"This is a critical moment when America must also send a forceful message of resolve to Iran and Hezbollah - both of whom have provided direct and extensive military support to Assad," AIPAC said in its statement.

source reuters.com 

Japan pledges over $470mn to remedy Fukushima nuclear crisis

The government is to spend "tens of billions" of yen to deal with the water crisis after the beleaguered operator of the plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), stated it discovered another radiation center, Trade and Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said in a televised interview. "Tokyo Electric has been playing a game of whack-a-mole with problems at the site."

A package of new measures on how to deal with the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima plant, which was besieged by a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, are set to be announced on Tuesday.

The total amount pledged is set at 47 billion yen ($473 million), according to Japanese media.

The package includes the construction of a massive underground wall worth US$320,000 to contain groundwater flows. The building of the wall will entail freezing a perimeter of earth around the damaged reactors to stop the groundwater mixing with water being used to cool the melted fuel rods.

Another US$150,000 will be spent on a new system that would dramatically decrease radiation levels in the contaminated water.

source rt.com

Hillary Clinton supports Obama on Syria

Clinton supports the president’s effort to enlist the Congress in pursuing a strong and targeted response to the Assad regime’s horrific use of chemical weapons,” a Clinton adviser said in a statement. As secretary of state, Clinton advocated for the administration to do more to arm and assist forces opposed to Assad’s government in Syria.

Russia may increase Syria military aid if US attack

Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey told Congress Tuesday Russia may increase Syria military aid should the US attack, though he said he did not think this possibility should stall US action,"There is some indication that they (the Russians) have assured the regime that if we destroy something, they can replace it," Dempsey said during a Senate hearing.

US public survey about Syria

Some 56 percent of respondents do not want the US to intervene in Syria, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll surveying the American public on potential strikes there. Only 19 percent surveyed supported US action, while 25 percent said they did not know what, if anything, the US should do. 
Just 29 percent of respondents support arming anti-government rebels in Syria, while 49 percent oppose. Another 21 percent were undecided on arming rebels.

Russia monitoring the situation in Syria

Two Russian amphibious assault ships, “Novocherkassk” and “Minsk,” have headed to the Mediterranean Sea as part of a scheduled mission of monitoring the situation in the region, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman told ITAR-TASS.

The ships were dispatched from Russia’s Black and Baltic Sea Fleets, and will reach the destination area on September 5-6, joining the Russian standing naval force in the region, the ministry said.

The maneuvers are part of the “stage-by-stage rotation of warships and support ships of the standing naval force in the Mediterranean,” the spokesman explained.