WH Chief of Staff admits no military support from any allies yet.

[morningfog]

CROWLEY: Right now, the president has talked about it's the world's red line. The president has talked about all the neighboring countries that are threatened by what Assad has done and his use of chemical weapons.

Are any of them willing to provide military equipment or military personnel?

Do you have a firm commitment from anybody?

MCDONOUGH: Well, we've got commitments from, as you saw in the statement, and as you've seen in a series of statements since, including yesterday out of Brussels, where the EU came out and said that the Syrian government should be held to account.

CROWLEY: Moral support.

MCDONOUGH: Well, look, I think it...

CROWLEY: And that specific report, not -- it's not specific support for the strike at this point.

MCDONOUGH: Well, at -- not at this point, but it is specific, uh, support for, uh, holding him to account and it is a recognition that it happened. So we are no longer debating whether it happened or whether it didn't happen. And that's important.

But we do have plenty of friends who are standing with us.

But let's remember why the president said it's an international red line. Going back almost 100 years, 1925, the Geneva Protocol against the use of these terrible weapons, uh, that's been in place for almost 100 years.

CROWLEY: And it's a protocol that does not include and here's the punishment if it happens, we should say that.

MCDONOUGH: It's a protocol (INAUDIBLE)...

CROWLEY: So the answer is pretty much no at this point...

MCDONOUGH: It's a protocol that has...

CROWLEY: -- that we have a commitment.

MCDONOUGH: -- allowed us to ensure that our people, our troops, men and women in uniform, have nat -- not been subjected to attacks with chemical weapons since World War I. That's the important issue here. We want to -- we want to continue it -- to have it that way.

CROWLEY: So let me just put this to rest. No, we have no firm commitments for military personnel or military equipment from any other country?

MCDONOUGH: I -- look, we have -- we have plenty of support. I'm not going to get into who is going to do what in any particular operation. We feel very good about the support we have and we'll continue to build more.

CROWLEY: OK. But at this point, more moral support than anything, is what you're talking about?

MCDONOUGH: You're trying to get me to say that. I'm not going to say that.

From CNN State of the Union with Crowley, 9/8/13.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1309/08/sotu.01.html

[VanillaRhapsody]

1. So you ARE trying?

he said he is not going to say that...

[morningfog]

3. Trying what?

[Jefferson23]

2. Fucking incredible:

I'm not going to get into who is going to do what in any particular operation. We feel very good about the support we have and we'll continue to build more.( end)


I hope this all falls apart, and the sooner the better.

[lumpy]

10. Iy would not be good strategy to tell the whole world who was going to do what in any

particular military operation. The old WW2 saying "loose lips sink ships". It was obvious Crowley wanted to the guy to loosen his lips.

[morningfog]

12. No need to say who will do what. He could even say, 'we have commitments of foreign militaries.'

And leave it at that. He couldn't say that, because as of now, we are militarily alone.

[Jefferson23]

15. You know the issue he is avoiding is the assistance is not there on the scale suggested. n/t

[truedelphi]

18. Also fucking incredible:

Washington Post reports that an experienced general is not okay with all this. (Not that the President needs advice from some mere general.)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/us-military-planners-dont-support-war-with-syria/2013/09/05/10a07114-15bb-11e3-be6e-dc6ae8a5b3a8_story.html

[Jefferson23]

20. I have to tell you I am not sure he isn't taking a shot at Obama b/c

he is certain the strategy is ill conceived or not..perhaps he is. IF he took what he briefly mentioned
that Syria stands out from the others in the ME and expanded upon it, that would impress me.
This idea to strike is falling apart, and I don't much care for why it is, only that it continue to do
just that, fall apart before it goes any further...regardless of motive. History will sort out the
details, until then, this one OP gives a good understanding of what the general most likely is well
aware of and eluded to, however sloppily. I imagine we'll see more like this one:

West's wars of choice target the weak
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-03-060913.html

[X_Digger]

4. McDonough should sign up for "America's Got Talent" with all that tap dancing. n/t

[lumpy]

11. Ohhh clever. Do you really want some official to tell everybody what the military

is planning?

[X_Digger]

14. Name "coalition members providing more than moral support"? Sure. How hard is that? n/t

[dipsydoodle]

5. In other words the US has got jackshit

other than moral support. At least if it was surgical supports some could wear them.

[Logical]

6. LOL, this administration is more of a joke every week! n-t

[woo me with science]

7. But they're in the double digits!

What a bunch of murderous liars.

[blkmusclmachine]

8. The WH will get its dirty little War, and the War after that, and ...

Who's on the list after nuking Syria?

[bigtree]

9. been there, done that

lol

[gopiscrap]

13. That's interesting

I thought we already some countries committing

[jsr]

16. Eh, minor detail.

[City Lights]

17. Uh oh, sounds like Poland is not on board. nt

[99th_Monkey]

19. What happened to Qatar and the Saudis? Kerry said they were in the bag, plus un-named others

And this statement hit the news TODAY.

"Standing at Kerry’s side during a news conference after the meeting, Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiyah said that “foreign intervention is already present by several parties” in Syria on Assad’s side, an apparent reference to Russia, Iran and Hezbollah.

“We in Qatar support the G-20 side statement,” he said. “At the same time, we call on all other countries to intervene to protect the Syrian people.” He said his government was considering how it could aid the Syrian effort. Qatar sent bombers and other resources to the NATO intervention in Libya in 2011.

Saudi Arabia has strongly indicated in recent weeks that it would participate in a U.S.-led strike against Syria, but has not said so explicitly. Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, with whom Kerry held a separate meeting Saturday, did not comment after the Arab League gathering.

“Saud and Saudi Arabia have signed on to the G-20 [side] agreement,” Kerry said, and “have supported the strike and they support taking action.” Kerry said he was “not going to name the others” who will sign the statement, but said they “agreed they would go back and make their own announcements within 24 hours.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/kerry-says-saudi-arabia-has-agreed-to-support-military-strike-against-syria/2013/09/08/e966e0b8-188c-11e3-8685-5021e0c41964_story.html