US and Turkey plan for 'worst Syria scenario'

[UnrepentantLiberal]

4. US and Turkey plan Syria intervention

By Thomas Seibert
The National
Aug 12, 2012

ISTANBUL // The United States and Turkey said yesterday they are working on plans for possible intervention in Syria should Bashar Al Assad's regime use chemical weapons.

"We have been closely coordinating over the course of this conflict," Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, told reporters in Istanbul after talks with her Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu. "But now we need to get into the real details of such operational planning and it needs to be across both of our governments."

She said the US and Turkey had decided to set up a working group of representatives from the two foreign ministries as well as from the intelligence services and the military of both countries. Responding to a question, Ms Clinton confirmed that the establishment of safe havens for refugees and a no-fly-zone for government aircraft inside Syria were being looked at.

"It is one thing to talk about all kinds of potential actions, but you cannot make reasoned decisions without doing intense analysis and operational planning," she said. "We want to hasten the end of the bloodshed and of the Assad regime, that is our strategic goal," Ms Clinton added.

More: http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/us-and-turkey-plan-syria-intervention