Oh my: Russia threatens to sell S-300 to Iran if US attacks Syria without UN backing

In an interview as part of the lead up to the G20 summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the Associated Press and Russia's state Channel 1 television that his country would consider selling the S-300 anti-missile defense system to 'certain regions' in the event that the United States attacks Syria without United Nations backing. The statement was taken as a veiled hint that Russia would

Hmmm... Russia suspending S-300, MiG29 delivery to Syria

Claiming they haven't been paid, Russia is suspending delivery of the S-300 anti-missile system and of new, modern MiG29M/M2 fighter jets to Syria.

Russia has suspended the delivery of S-300 missile systems to Syria,
Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed in an interview on Wednesday,
AFP reported.

Over the weekend, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported the shipping of the S-300

US and Russian navies to clash in Mediterranean?

Reuters reports that a US attack on Syria is likely to make extensive use of naval assets.

If U.S. President Barack Obama decides to take military action against
Syria for using chemical weapons in its two-year-old civil war, the
initial blows likely would be delivered by four U.S. guided missile
destroyers currently in the Mediterranean.

...

Following are some of the U.S. military

US tells Assad he can relax

The Obama administration sent a message to Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday. They told him that the American action against Syria, which could happen as soon as Thursday, won't last long and won't do a whole lot of damage (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).

An American military attack on Syria could begin as early as Thursday
and will involve three days of missile strikes, according to "senior
U.S. officials

Will the US attack Syria? Should it?

Will the United States of Obama attack Syria, which is an Arab Muslim country? Should it?

The views on this question are all over the map. In my view, whether Obama should attack depends on what he hopes to accomplish, whether he can accomplish it, and whether the price he will pay by attacking (or not attacking) is a price worth paying. I'll elaborate on that toward the end of this post, but

France calls for armed intervention if chem weapons used in Syria

France is calling for armed intervention if chemical weapons were used in Syria.

"There would have to be reaction with force in Syria from the
international community, but there is no question of sending troops on
the ground," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on French television
network BFM.

He added that if the UN Security Council could not make a decision, one
would have to be

Asia to replace Europe as Israel's biggest trading partner?

In light of last month's publication of Europe's Nuremberg guidelines, which seek to force Israel to declare that Judea, Samaria, 'east' Jerusalem and the Golan Heights are not part of our country, there are increasing calls in Israel to turn away from Europe toward Asia as its main trading partner. Here's former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations Dore Gold.

[Former Middle East expert

With Egypt turning to Russia, Western diplomats accuse Israel of 'undercutting' Obama

Violence continued in Egypt on Saturday, as the Egyptian army attempted to shut down the Muslim Brotherhood. The Egyptians are so frustrated with the Obama administration that they are sending a diplomatic mission to Moscow, possibly signalling the undoing of a 35-year alliance (Hat Tip: Weasel Zippers).

As the situation in Egypt escalates, a source with very close ties
to the Egyptian

Report: Obama personally approved leaks of Israeli strikes in Syria

President Obama personally approved the leaking by the CIA of information about alleged Israeli strikes on Syria according to a report in the World Tribune.

“This is a decision that could come only from Obama,” a diplomat said.
“[T]his reflects his dismay over the Israeli operations, which the
president believes could result in a regional war.”

...

The diplomats said Israel has