“Those words ‘threat to national security’ are very important ... "

"The IDF is busy fighting 'this hard war'..."

Unfounded fears if you ask me ...The National/Here

".... Another Syrian political analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the wording appeared to be a prelude to war. “When the Americans attacked Iraq, they did so after saying that Saddam Hussein posed a threat to US national security. Now they are saying the same thing about Syria.

“Those words ‘threat to national security’ are very important, it means the Americans are preparing to strike or that they will give the green light to Israel to strike.”....

Economically the sanctions are of limited importance..... “We know the economy can cope under US sanctions, it is the political meaning that matters,” Mr Bilal said. “There is a significance to this. The US has been unable to shift any of the fundamental Syrian positions regarding Lebanon or Palestine, so this is probably a result of Obama feeling they have not achieved as much as he wanted with his policy of dialogue.”....

While there is concern here about Mr Obama’s firm language – even a feeling that it might have put yet another nail in the coffin of any incipient peace process – Tharbet Salim, an independent Syrian political commentator said it might, perversely, be a positive development.

“I see this as part of Obama’s balancing act with Israel,” he said. “Obama is trying to be hard on the Israelis over settlement expansion and by renewing these sanctions in this way, he can say to his critics, ‘Look, I’ve not gone soft on Syria, I’m not just hard on you.’ This gives him some cover to keep up the pressure on Israel.”...."