Syria's neighbors are preparing for the worst as the specter of potential Western airstrikes hang heavily over a nervous Middle East. As U.S. President Barack Obama makes his case to Congress and the international community for a military response to an alleged chemical attack by Syrian regime forces in a Damascus suburb, CNN explores how the countries bordering war-torn Syria feel about Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the possibility of foreign intervention in the bloody conflict there. Lebanon Security is tightening and there is a mood of growing worry and angst in the streets of Beirut, where many are convinced that strikes on Damascus, less than 70 miles from the Lebanese capital, will further destabilize the country that, aside from Syria, has suffered the most as a result of the war.
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Lebanon: Security tight amid fears Western strikes in Syria will destabilize country
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Israel: Scared residents line up at gas-mask distribution centers; Israeli PM 'ready for anything'
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Jordan: Despite world's military officials meeting there, country says it won't be launching pad
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Saudi Arabia: Many want Assad gone, but believe airstrikes will make Syrian suffering worse
The government has mostly tried to stay out of the conflict, but that hasn't stopped the bloodshed -- and those fleeing the fighting -- from spilling over @placeholder's borders.
But despite these deep divisions, many @placeholder are united in the belief that potential strikes are little more than a superficial show of power from an American president backed into a corner by his "red line" declaration about chemical weapons use in Syria.
In May of 2013, an @placeholder defense ministry official specifically denied that Israel had "done anything against Assad and his regime."