UN weapons inspectors to leave Syria a day early

[morningfog]

Ban Ki-moon has said the UN weapons inspectors investigating last week's suspected chemical weapons attack will leave Syria on Saturday, one day ahead of schedule.

The announcement deepened anticipation over imminent air strikes. Under an agreement with the Syrian government, the UN team had until the end of Sunday to complete their investigation.

If they leave a day early, they will not be able to carry out the three other site inspections from earlier suspected chemical attacks they had initially intended to complete.

The move is reminiscent of similar hasty departures of UN weapons inspectors from Iraq over a decade ago, after receiving a tip-off from western intelligence agencies that US air strikes against Saddam Hussein's regime were imminent.

The team was seen leaving its hotel in Damascus early on Thursday morning.

Speaking in Vienna, Ban said the investigators "should be allowed to conclude their investigation activities".

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/29/un-inspectors-leave-syria-early?CMP=twt_fd

[Just Saying]

1. I hate this.

If the administration is planning a strike they should be crossing all their ts and dotting every I. I support the President in general and I'm certainly not as anti-government as some people here, but this makes me very uneasy.

[CanonRay]

2. Now that's a bad sign

[C_U_L8R]

3. Weren't other first strikes on Sunday Nights?

I seem to remember it but may be mistaken

[KharmaTrain]

4. Turning The Screws On Assad...

...my hopes are we're watching an international game of chicken to force Assad to stop using chemical weapons, but I know better. If you're gonna threaten to use force, you better damn be ready to do it and then all bets are off. The genocide in that country...and how else do you describe the deaths of over 100,000 people over the past two years...needs to end and if a strike on wMD depots can tip the balance to remove Assad, so much the better, but there's no sure thing. Clinton tried this game against Saddam Hussein and it didn't work...

[uponit7771]

5. I don't support this shit