Secretary Ban Ki-moon said he was “extremely troubled about the risk of an all-out civil war (in Syria) and was concerned about the outbreak of related violence in Lebanon.”

He spoke as dozens of Syrians died in clashes – mostly in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib and the town of Homs – while two people were killed in Beirut in a spillover of Syrian bloodshed.

Sunday, at the NATO summit in Chicago, Secretary Anders Fogh Rasmussen said firmly that the alliance has “no intention” of taking military action against President Bashar Assad’s regime. But he said nothing about individual NATO members translating their concern about the escalating violence in Syria into military action. Above all, he did not explain why Syrian army heavy T-72 tanks have in recent days started bursting into flames on the open roads.

DEBKAfile’s military sources disclose the cause: The Syrian rebels have received their first “third generation” anti-tank weapons, 9K115-2 Metis-M and Kornet E. They are supplied by Saudi and Qatari intelligence agencies following a secret message from President Barack Obama advising them to up the military stake in the effort to oust Assad.

Saturday, May 19, President Obama said in a speech to the G-8 summit at Camp David that “Bashar al-Assad must leave power.” Listening to him were Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev whose government strongly opposes the bid to topple Assad and is helping him to weather the uprising against his rule.

Medvedev and Chinese leader Hu Jintao both kept silent after Obama spoke. Both would have had intelligence updates relayed to Camp David on the latest turn of events in Syria.

The supply of powerful anti-tank missiles to the Syrian rebels is intended to achieve two purposes:

CONTINUED at DEBKAfile.

Syria remains the top destination for Iranian arms shipments in violation of a U.N. Security Council ban on weapons exports by the Islamic Republic, according to a confidential report on Iran sanctions-busting seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

Iran, like Russia, is one of Syria’s few allies as it presses ahead with a 14-month old assault on opposition forces determined to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

News of the panel’s report came as Tehran and the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency try narrow their differences on how to tackle concerns over Iran’s atomic program, and as Iran prepares for talks with the five permanent council members and Germany in Iraq next week.

The new report, submitted by a panel of sanctions-monitoring experts to the Security Council’s Iran sanctions committee, said the panel investigated three large illegal shipments of Iranian weapons over the past year.

CONTINUED at The Star.

Nato’s plans to upgrade the US’s estimated 180 tactical nuclear weapons in western Europe are unnecessary, expensive and likely to exacerbate already difficult relations with Russia, according to a report.

The alliance is preparing to replace “dumb” free-fall nuclear bombs and ageing delivery aircraft with precision-guided weapons that would be carried by US F35 strike aircraft, according to a report from the European Leadership Network (ELN), a thinktank supported by former UK defence ministers including Lord Des Browne and Sir Malcolm Rifkind.

The report, Escalation by Default?: the Future of Nato Nuclear Weapons In Europe, is by Ted Seay, who until last year was arms control adviser to the US mission at Nato headquarters in Brussels.

CONTINUED at The Raw Story.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus has announced it will introduce legislation designed to strip Americans of the right to defend themselves. Called “Stop Shoot First Laws,” the amendment to the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill under consideration in the House would deny states federal funding allocated under section 505 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 if they continue to allow citizens to defend themselves.

“Shoot first laws have already cost too many lives,” said Progressive Caucus co-chairs Keith Ellison and Raul Grijalva upon introducing their amendment. “In Florida alone, deaths due to self-defense have tripled since the law was enacted. Federal money shouldn’t be spent supporting states with laws that endanger their own people. This is no different than withholding transportation funds from states that don’t enforce seatbelt laws.”

“The message here is if you have this kind of law that your federal funding is going to take a hit because they make states less safe,” Adam Sarvana, communications director for Grijalva, toldPolitico.

In other words, the Democrats will force states to choose between putting their citizens at the mercy of violent criminals or taking federal largess.

Because the House does not have an open amendment process, the amendment will likely not see a vote on the floor. Ellison and Grijalva introduced the amendment in and effort to further politicize the Trayvon Martin case and increase pressure on the Second Amendment.

Democrats are using “Shoot First” instead of “Stand Your Ground” in an effort to portray self defense as homicide.

“Stand Your Ground” is a legal extension of the Castle doctrine stating that a person has a right to defend himself against an intruder. “Stand Your Ground” laws state that one can use deadly force in any location one is legally allowed to be and removes the requirement that the threat must occur on one’s own property.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus is the largest caucus within the Democratic caucus in Congress. It is supported by the Institute for Policy Studies, MoveOn.org, the NAACP, National Council of La Raza, Hip Hop Caucus, and other liberal and so-called “progressive” organizations.

Source: Infowars. Written by Kurt Nimmo.

Israel’s military chief toned down the rhetoric over Iran’s nuclear programme on Wednesday, describing the Iranian leadership as “very rational” and unlikely to take the decision to build a bomb.

Speaking to the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper, Lieutenant General Benny Gantz said Iran was systematically approaching the point at which it would be able to decide on whether to build a bomb, but had not yet made that decision.

“It still hasn’t decided yet whether to go the extra mile,” he said.

CONTINUED at the Raw Story.

Chicago – Blackhawks and A/MH-6 Little Bird helicopters used by special forces circling low through downtown Chicago skies made for a scary scene along the Chicago River, as they rattled windows flying among the city’s skyscrapers.

The training exercise comes as the city found out some of the details of what the Secret Service wants for security at next month’s summit at McCormick Place.

PHOTOS: Blackhawk Helicopters Circle Chicago 

FOX Chicago News has their terror prevention shopping list, courtesy of the Chicago Sun-Times:

• Portable high security barriers
• Crowd control barriers
• 10-12 portable light towers
• Sandbags, port-a-potties
• Mobile offices
• 5-10 golf carts

The Chicago Tribune reports that the most traffic for NATO dignitaries will be between McCormick place and downtown hotels in the Loop, River North and the Gold Coast.

Fifty heads of state will attend, with delegates, and will be moving multiple times each day.

FOX Chicago News viewers called in, describing men with automatic weapons, hanging out of helicopters.

The city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications on Monday announced that Chicago is the site of a military training exercise this week involving personnel and at least three helicopters.

But the bland press release from City Hall did nothing to prepare folks for the jarring scene that unfolded Monday evening.

“It was frightening,” Jessica Hill said. “I was definitely alarmed.”

At least three Blackhawk helicopters flying at time in close order formation – at other times separating fairly widely – zoomed around office and residential towers for several hours.

“I was pretty amazed,” Felise Llano said, “because they were definitely military.”

Witnesses described three to four very heavily armed men in each chopper. Several said some of the men appeared to be tethered and were at times literally hanging out of the choppers, and looked ready to jump.

Calling it routine training, city officials said in a statement such exercises are conducted by military personnel in various cities around the country. They say the exercises are designed to improve the military’s ability to operate in urban environments.

Emergency management officials said the training sites have been selected to minimize the impact on residents’ daily routines.

The timing of the drills led some to wonder if they’re in preparation for next month’s NATO summit.

But officials said that the summit and the drills are unrelated.

Source: Chicago Sun Times. Video at link.

Future riots could be quelled by projectiles containing chemical irritants fired by police using new weapons that are now in the final stages of development.

The Discriminating Irritant Projectile (Dip) has been under development by the Home Office’s centre for applied science and technology (Cast) as a potential replacement for plastic bullets.

Documents obtained by the Guardian reveal that last summer’s riots in England provided a major impetus to Home Office research into new-generation riot control technology, ranging from the Dip to even more curious weaponry described by Cast technicians as “skunk oil”.

CONTINUED at The Guardian.

Foreign ministers from the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations are meeting in Washington for discussions that include the continuing violence in Syria, nuclear talks with Iran, and North Korea’s missile launch plans.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the meeting is an opportunity to discuss the many global issues that require joint leadership from G8 nations. Topping the agenda: Syria.

“We are alarmed for the ongoing violence in Syria, and we are concerned about the problems facing special envoy Kofi Annan as he attempts to bring about a cease-fire and the end to violence,” said Secretary Clinton.

Within the G8, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom have called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down as part of a democratic transition to end the political violence, which has raged for 13 months. Russia has backed President Assad as he battles the opposition and continues to sell arms to Syria.

Secretary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet separately to discuss Syria after a video conference briefing by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Syrian troops shooting at Syrian refugees inside Turkey.

With Turkey set to host another round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program Saturday, Secretary Clinton says G8 foreign ministers believe it is an opportunity for Tehran to address seriously the international community’s concerns about its nuclear ambitions.

“We believe there is still time for diplomacy, but it is urgent that the Iranians come to the table to establish an environment conducive to achieving concrete results through a sustained process,” said Clinton.

Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful civilian purposes and is not designed to develop nuclear weapons.

It is a standoff similar to North Korea, where officials are readying the launch of a rocket which Pyongyang says will put a satellite in orbit.

“It violates multiple UN Security Council resolutions,” she said. “I think we all share a strong interest in stability on the Korean Peninsula, and we will be discussing how best to achieve that.”

Secretary Clinton says G8 foreign ministers will also discuss transnational issues including terrorism, piracy, food security, and support for democratic change in the Middle East and North Africa.

Those talks continue Thursday in preparation for next month’s G8 heads of state summit at Camp David.

Source: The Chosun Ilbo.

Quick, there’s a creeper by the window! Shoot EVERYTHING.

This is the BedBunker, an under-the-mattress gun safe capable of holding 35 rifles and 70 handguns. That…is enough for a small militia. Unfortunately that’s not a big enough bed for a small militia, so you’re gonna need at least another queen to sleep everybody comfortably. The California King model (with the 105 gun capacity) runs $4,200, and weighs 1,500-lbs empty, so it’s not the kind of box-spring you can just strap to the top of your car when you want to move. Not thinking about overthrowing the government? No problem, the BedBunker is available in sizes down to a 650-lb twin for $2,200 that only holds like 40 guns. Me? I want one that can hold a tank AND fighter jet. Fortunately, I don’t have any kids so I like to just hide my weapons throughout the house. I even found one in a cereal box this morning. “You thought it was a prize didn’t you?” I was all, OMG, General Mills is THE SHIT.

Source: Geekologie.