The guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG 107) Senior American officials say the United States has planned to launch missile strikes against Syria “as early as Thursday” in order to punish Damascus over the alleged use of chemical weapons. The unnamed officials told NBC News on Tuesday that the “three days” of strikes would be limited in scope, and aimed at “sending a message to Syria’s... 

A senior Syrian official has warned that Israel will “come under fire” should the United states pursue any military aggression against the Assad regime. As reported by the Israeli news site Ynet, Halef al-Muftah, a leading member of the Syrian Ba’ath national council, and a former aide to the Syrian media minister said today that the Syrian government has “strategic weapons aimed at Israel.” Making... 

A 61-year-old white nationalist is trying to turn his small town in North Dakota into a stronghold for white supremacists. Paul Craig Cobb, a white nationalist who lives in Leith, N.D., is quickly buying properties in the small town, which has a population of 19 people. Abandoned houses are scattered throughout the desolate town and there is only one storefront business for miles. “I didn’t have... 

US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has reiterated that the Pentagon has prepared “options for all contingencies” in Syria and is ready to use force if President Barack Obama gives the green-light. “President Obama has asked the Defense Department to prepare options for all contingencies. We have done that and we are prepared to exercise whatever option — if he decides to employ one... 

Iran has warned the US not to cross “the red line” on Syria threatening it would have “severe consequences” for the White House. This follows a statement from Syrian officials who said a strike would create “very serious fallout” for the whole region. “America knows the limitation of the red line of the Syrian front and any crossing of Syria’s red line will have severe consequences... 

UN Security Council Lebanese President Michel Sleiman has tasked caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour with filing an urgent complaint with the UN Security Council against a recent Israeli airstrike. Israeli warplanes bombed a target near the coastal town of Naameh, between Beirut and Sidon, on Friday, a day after rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel. The Israeli military said in a statement... 

Libertarian Texas congressman Ron Paul spoke to Larry King on a new episode of Politicking, advocating an end to the surveillance programs exposed over recent months and calling for former Army Private Bradley Manning’s immediate release from prison. Paul, who conducted an “Ask Me Anything” session Thursday on the social news site Reddit, is perhaps best known as the perennial presidential... 

An F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 421st Fighter Squadron In response to recent allegations of chemical attacks in Syria, the Pentagon has begun refining its military options for possible strikes in the Middle Eastern country, US officials said. Officers at the Pentagon said they were updating target lists for potential airstrikes on a number of government and military installations in Syria, should... 

Gen. Martin Dempsey The top American military officer has warned about a US military attack against Syria, saying it would further commit Washington to a conflict that is not decisive militarily. “We can destroy the Syrian air force,” Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey said in a letter to Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) dated August 19. “But it would also escalate and potentially... 

The new Egyptian constitution may seek to ban all religious parties from the political arena, sources told Ahram Online. The interim government may declare the Muslim Brotherhood a terror organization amid clashes which have left over 800 dead. The new draft constitution is expected to be announced on Wednesday, Ali Awad, head of the ten-member technical committee and legal aid to the interim president,... 

Egypt interim government says it mulls dissolving the Muslim Brotherhood, as the death toll from Friday clashes reaches 173. On Saturday, Sherif Shawki, spokesman of the Egyptian Cabinet, announced that the legal possibility of the group’s dissolution “is being studied currently” by the Ministry of Social Solidarity. Shawki did not provide further information with regard to the decision. The... 

Spain can’t trust UK on Gibraltar, official says. Spanish director general for foreign affairs has said Spain cannot trust Britain amid escalating tension between London and Madrid over Gibraltar. Speaking to the BBC’s Tom Burridge, Ignacio Ibanez said the row between the two countries would continue until a new artificial reef was removed from waters off the British-ruled territory. Moreover,... 

The Australian navy has tracked down four unexploded bombs that were dumped onto the country’s World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef by two US fighter jets during a botched military exercise last month. According to the Australian Department of Defense, its mine-hunting vessel HMAS Gascoyne has discovered the bombs and is currently working to retrieve the ordnance in a joint recovery operation... 

The Israeli regime plans recruiting students to engage in an online propaganda war on its behalf. The Israeli regime has undertaken a new bid to recruit students to work at universities as “covert units,” posting messages on social networking websites on behalf of Tel Aviv. The recruited students taking part in the clandestine propaganda project for the Zionist regime will be part of the... 

Obama makes a statement to the media regarding events in Egypt on Aug. 15 in Chilmark Mass. President Barack Obama has announced the cancellation of US-Egypt military exercises following the latest killings in the country, without talking about suspending Washington’s annual military aid to Cairo. “While we want to sustain our relationship with Egypt, our traditional cooperation cannot continue...