Report: 1000s of US Troops Arrive off Syria Coast on USS Eisenhower

Local Editor

The USS Eisenhower, an American aircraft carrier that holds eight fighter bomber squadrons and 8,000 men, arrived at the Syrian coast Wednesday in the midst of leaks, indicating US preparation for a potential ground intervention.

While the Obama administration has not announced any sort of American-led military intervention, the "Times" daily reported that Washington is now ready to launch such action within days if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad decides to use chemical weapons.
"The arrival of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, one of the 11 US Navy aircraft carriers that has the capacity to hold thousands of men, is now stationed at the coast of Syria," "Israeli" "DEBKAfile" reported.

According to the "Israeli' sources, "The aircraft carrier joined the USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, which holds about 2,500 Marines."
"The USS Eisenhower Strike Group transited the Suez Canal from the Persian Gulf Saturday, Dec. 1, sailing up to the Syrian coast Tuesday in a heavy storm, with 8 fighter bomber squadrons of Air Wing Seven on its decks and 8,000 sailors, airmen and Marines," they said.
Moreover, "DEBKAfile" mentioned that "if the US decides to intervene militarily in Syria, it now has at its disposal 10,000 fighting men, 17 warships, 70 fighter-bombers, 10 destroyers and frigates and a guided military cruises."

"Some of the vessels are also equipped with Aegis missile interceptors to shoot down any missiles Syria might have at hand," it added.
For its part, "The Australian" quoted a US official who said: "We have (US) special operations forces at the right posture, they don't have to be sent."
It further learned that "US military troops are already near Syria and ready to intervene in the conflict."

"The muscle is already there to be flexed," a US official told the London Times about the US military's presence outside of Syria. "It's premature to say what could happen if a decision is made to intervene. That hasn't taken shape, we've not reached that kind of decision. There are a lot of options, but it [military action] could be launched rapidly, within days."
The move comes after NATO made a significant decision Tuesday to deploy Patriot Air and Missile Systems in Turkey on the border of Syria where opposition groups have the stronghold.

"The protection from NATO will be three dimensional; one is the short-range Patriots, the second is the middle-range Terminal High Altitude Air Defense [THAD] system and the last is the AEGIS system, which counters missiles that can reach outside the atmosphere," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.
In this context, "DEBKAfile's" anonymous military sources claimed that "the THAD and Aegis arrived at the Syrian coast aboard the USS Eisenhower."

"The US now stands ready for direct military intervention in the Syrian conflict when the weather permits," the news source wrote.
It is worth mentioning that Syria reiterated more than once that " it would not use chemical weapons against its own people."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org