United States Says It Is 'Ready' for Any Retaliatory Attack by Hizbullah
The United States announced on Wednesday that it is ready to respond to any possible attack launched by Hizbullah as a retaliation to the anticipated U.S.-led operation against the Syrian regime.
"Our Navy is ready to respond to any retaliatory attack by Hizbullah,” U.S. army chief General Martin Dempsey said during a hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Dempsey added: “Our embassies are also fully protected against any possible attack by the party.”
“There are conventional risks of retaliation, plus asymmetric attacks via Hizbullah. Even cyber attacks.”
During Wednesday's hearing, U.S. lawmakers demanded changes to the authorization for the use of U.S. military force against Syria before a crucial vote on President Barack Obama's call for punitive strikes.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a three-hour, classified session to try to thrash out an agreement after Republican veteran Senator John McCain appeared to balk at the plan because it did not go far enough.
Democrat and Republican leaders in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had announced a bipartisan resolution and scheduled a markup and vote for mid-day Wednesday, but it got bumped back a few hours amid what was clearly dissent about the path forward.
Obama warned last week he was ready to launch military strikes on Assad's regime over its alleged use of chemical weapons.
Washington has accused the regime of Assad of carrying out the August 21 attack near Damascus, which U.S. officials say killed nearly 1,500 people, including hundreds of children.
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