US: Five scenarios for military intervention in Syria

The United States highest-ranking military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, has said that the USA is still deliberating whether it should or should not use military force in Syria.

In a letter to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, Dempsey has revealed the five options that the Obama administration is considering on Syria, including "limited" strikes against the Assad regime and an all-out campaign to secure chemical weapons that includes "thousands" of U.S. forces.

Among these scenarios:

A no-fly zone, which according to Dempsey could cost up to a billion dollars per month and would include shooting down regime aircraft and conducting strikes on their airfields.

The establishment of "buffer zones," which would be "specific geographic areas" where the opposition would safely organize and train. This would require thousands of U.S. ground forces, Dempsey said, "even if positioned outside Syria," to protect these zones.

A campaign to secure chemical weapons. This would entail destroying portions of Syria's stockpile, interdicting shipments and seizing other components. At minimum, Dempsey said, this would include a no-fly zone and thousands of special operations and other forces to secure critical sites.

Dempsey stressed that these are just options that have been prepared, and that some options "may not be feasible in time or cost."

Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, said that despite "very strong concerns about the strength of the administration's plans in Syria and its chances for success" there was "consensus that we could move forward with what the administration's plans and intentions are in Syria consistent with committee reservations."