* OIC calls for ‘decisive action' * Give peace a chance, appeals UN chief * UN team visits gas attack site * Stocks take another beating; oil spikes DAMASCUS — Even as friends and foes of President Bashar Al-Assad headed for a showdown at the United Nations on Wednesday, United States and its allies laid the groundwork for military strikes on Syria over its suspected chemical attacks. Officials in Washington indicated that the military strike was imminent and could begin as early as Thursday night. The US and its allies plan to go ahead with the strike despite stern warnings against intervention from key Damascus supporters Russia and Iran. Britain presented a resolution “condemning the chemical weapons attack by Assad” to a meeting of the Security Council's five permanent members in New York. “We've always said we want the UN Security Council to live up to its responsibilities on Syria. Today they have an opportunity to do that,” Prime Minister David Cameron said via Twitter. Making a last-ditch effort for a diplomatic solution to the crisis, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for peace. Speaking in the Peace Palace in the Hague, he said: “Here in the Peace Palace, let us say: Give peace a chance. Give diplomacy a chance. Stop fighting and start talking.” Ban also urged the UN Council to “find the unity to act... to use its authority for peace.” However, condemning the alleged gas attacks in Syria, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) called for “decisive action” in response. The OIC general secretariat “stressed the need to hold the Syrian government legally and morally accountable for this heinous crime and to bring its perpetrators to justice”. A quick vote on the British draft resolution in the UN Council looked unlikely. Russia, which has already used its veto to block resolutions condemning Syria, said it was premature for it to act before a UN team inspecting the sites of the alleged attacks releases its findings. The UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, confirmed that chemical “substances” were used in the attacks that are thought to have killed hundreds of Syrians on Aug. 21. Inspectors returned to Damascus Wednesday afternoon after visiting Eastern Ghouta, a site of one of the reported attacks, and Ban suggested they would need until at least Friday to complete their work. Brahimi said any military action “must be taken after a decision by the Security Council.” However, such as was the case when NATO forces helped rebels oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, there is a precedent for action without a UN resolution. A senior US official said Washington has ruled out unilateral action and was conferring with allies on potential punitive strikes that could last for more than a day. In preparation for a likely three-day wave of military strikes, President Barack Obama and senior members of his administration have made at least 88 phone calls to allies and world leaders since disturbing pictures emerged of the chemical attacks. Turkey has put its armed forces on alert, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said. “We are now at a more alert position ... Turkey will take whatever measures necessary within the framework of its own strategic interests,” Davutoglu said. Syrian Prime Minister Wael Al-Halqi said his country would become a “graveyard of the invaders” if there were a military intervention. Emerging stocks, bonds and currencies took another hammering on Wednesday as mounting expectations of Western action against Syria pushed up oil prices. The Turkish lira and the Indian rupee were at the forefront of selling, with both hitting new record lows as oil prices surged to six-month highs above $117 a barrel. The rupee tumbled 3.6 percent to 68.80 per dollar, its biggest one-day fall in 18 years, bringing 2013 losses to 20 percent. The lira fell 1.6 percent, while Turkish credit default swaps inched to new 14-month peaks. Oil is likely to rise toward $125 a barrel in case of military strikes and could go even higher if the conflict spills over into the region, Societe Generale said. Analyst Michael Wittner said the oil benchmark could surge as high as $150 per barrel if the war affects key oil producers such as Iraq, although any jump in prices would probably be brief. — Agencies
