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Obama administration: Syria has used chemical weapons
By S.A. MILLER Post Correspondent
Last Updated: 3:00 PM, April 25, 2013
Posted: 12:00 PM, April 25, 2013
The Obama administration has determined that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons in its civil war, Sen. John McCain announced today.
President Obama has warned that if Syria President Bashar al-Assad’s regime resorts to chemical warfare, it would cross a “red line” and trigger an unspecified response from the United States.
"It's pretty obvious that red line has been crossed," McCain (R-Ariz.) told reporters at the Capitol.
He held a letter that he said was from Obama which states that the administration had determined with varying degrees of confidence that Syria had used sarin gas against its people, describing the use of the nerve gas as “limited."
Black smoke rise from buildings due to government forces shelling, in Aleppo, Syria.
The Syrian government and rebels each accused the other of launching a chemical attack last month.
McCain, who has long argued for a more active US role in the more than 2-year-old upheaval in Syria, called for immediate action.
He proposed creating a refugee safe haven in neighboring countries, establishment of a no-fly zone over Syria and sending more arms to Syrian resistance fighters.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called for the US to immediately “secure the chemical weapons before they fall into the wrong hands.”
McCain and Graham warned that the US must get involved now to prevent Syria from falling under the control of al-Qaeda fighters, who are competing with the resistance fighters to topple al-Assad's regime. More than 6,000 al Qaeda fighters are believed to be in Syria, said Graham.
A White House National Security Council official cautioned against a rush to judgement, stressing that more tests and intelligence gathering is needed.
"Precisely because the President takes this issue so seriously, we have an obligation to fully investigate any and all evidence of chemical weapons use within Syria. That is why we are currently pressing for a comprehensive United Nations investigation that can credibly evaluate the evidence and establish what took place," said the official.
"Given the stakes involved, and what we have learned from our own recent experience, intelligence assessments alone are not sufficient – only credible and corroborated facts that provide us with some degree of certainty will guide our decision-making, and strengthen our leadership of the international community," said the official.
The US has said that Syria has likely used chemical weapons against rebel forces on a "small scale," but emphasised intelligence services were still not 100 percent sure.
US spy agencies have investigated reports from Syrian opposition groups that President Bashar al-Assad's forces have used sarin gas on at least two occasions during the two-year-old conflict.
"Our intelligence community does assess with varying degrees of confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria," Caitlin Hayden, a US National Security Council spokesperson, said on Thursday.
The assessment, which she said was based in part on "physiological samples", points to the possible use of sarin, a man-made nerve agent used in two attacks in Japan in the 1990s. It can cause convulsions, respiratory failure and death.
Hayden however warned the chain of custody of the weapons was "not clear, so we cannot confirm how the exposure occurred and under what conditions".
President Barack Obama has declared that the deployment of chemical weapons would be a game-changer and has threatened unspecified consequences if it happened. Even so, the Obama administration will likely move carefully, mindful of the lessons of the start of the Iraq war more than a decade ago.
At the time, the US administration used inaccurate US intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq in pursuit of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons that turned out not to exist.
'Limited but persuasive'
Also on Thursday, Britain said it has "limited but persuasive" evidence of the use of chemical weapons in Syria, including sarin gas.
"We have limited but persuasive information from various sources showing chemical weapon use in Syria, including sarin," a Foreign Office spokesperson said.
"This is extremely concerning. Use of chemical weapons is a war crime," she added.
"We have briefed our allies, partners and the UN on this information and we are working actively to get more and better information."
Reports earlier this month said British military scientists had studied a soil sample brought back from an area close to Damascus and found it tested positive for chemical weapons, although the government has not confirmed that.
Meanwhile, UN leader Ban Ki-moon renewed a call for Syria to let inspectors into the country.
Syria asked for a UN investigation but has since refused to let a UN team waiting in the region into the country.
Assad's government only wants its claims that opposition rebels used chemical arms to be investigated. Ban has said the team should also look into opposition claims.
Ban has noted the US claims and "takes seriously the assessment presented," UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said, commenting on the comments from the US.
"However, the United Nations is not in a position to comment on assessments based on national intelligence information."
