Obama Sets Red-Lines for Syria, Mulls Military Options

Russia issued a warning Tuesday against any foreign power taking unilateral action in Syria.

The comment by the Russian foreign minister is seen as a direct response to what President Obama said the day before.

Obama threatened “enormous consequences” if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used chemical or biological weapons, or even moved them in a menacing way.

He said the United States had communicated clearly with all players in the region that this was a “red-line” for Washington.

George Friedman says the real danger is that Assad might share his chemical weapons “with Hezbollah in Lebanon or other non-state actors.”

Friedman is founder and CEO of Stratfor, a global intelligence company in Austin, Texas.

The US will need to act swiftly if Syria opens its chemical arsenal.

“The president would not have made such statement,” says Friedman, “without giving orders to the Joint Chiefs to prepare the ground… we can assume US assets have been moved into position during this crisis.”

Any intervention would first require an assault on Syria’s substantial air defenses.

But the real issue says Friedman, is whether these weapons can be taken out from the air or whether ground troops would be needed.

There’s also the danger that air attack could release the poisonous chemicals into civilian areas.