Syria Preparing For U.S-NATO Attack

Syrian President Bashar Assad is taking military measures to prepare for a possible U.S.-NATO campaign against his regime, this column has learned.

While Assad struck a conciliatory tone in an interview today with his state-run television network, he also instructed the Syrian military to be prepared for an air or ground campaign if the international community determines his pledges of reform are not enough.

Last week, this column reported that Turkey secretly passed a message to Damascus that if it does not implement major democratic reforms, NATO may attack Assad’s regime, according to Egyptian security officials. The Egyptian officials said the message was coordinated with NATO members, specifically with the U.S. and European Union.

Assad has been widely accused of ordering massacres on militants and protesters engaged in an insurgency targeting his regime.

The Egyptian officials said Turkish leaders, speaking for NATO, told Assad that he has until March to implement democratization that would allow free elections as well as major constitutional reforms.

This past Thursday, Obama officially asked Assad to step down to pave the way for a democratic system in Syria.

According to informed Middle Eastern security officials, Assad asked his military to make specific preparations in the event of a U.S.-led NATO campaign similar to the military coalition now targeting Libyan leader Muammar Khaddafi.

Attacks Intended To Avenge Bin Laden’s Death

Last week’s deadly attacks that resulted in the deaths of eight Israelis were meant to avenge the death of Osama bin Laden, jihadist sources within an al Qaeda group in the Gaza Strip told this column.

The sources come from inside two al Qaeda-affiliated organizations, Jihadiya Salafiya and Jaish al-Islam.

The sources said both groups were planning to officially take credit for the attack but delayed their announcement fearing major Israeli reprisals inside Gaza.

According to Egyptian security officials speaking to this column, it was an al Qaeda front group headquartered in the Gaza Strip that was behind a series of coordinated attacks targeting Israelis near the southern border resort town of Eilat.

The officials said the attackers originated in Gaza, crossed into the neighboring Egyptian Sinai peninsula and then penetrated Israel along the Jewish state’s border with Egypt.

The Egyptian officials are coordinating a joint response to the attacks with Israel.

Radicals Serving Coffee Neat Fort Hood

Under the Hood is blunt about its political activism, stating outright on its website that the cafe is an “anti-war” establishment.

Aaron Klein is Jerusalem bureau chief and senior reporter for WorldNetDaily.com. He is also host of an investigative radio program on New York’s 770-WABC Radio, the largest talk radio station in the U.S., every Sunday between 2-4 p.m. His new website is KleinOnline.com.