U.S. Believes Syria Used Chemical Weapons
April 25th, 2013Here we go again.
Via: USA Today:
The United States now believes the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against its people, according to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and a White House letter to Congress.
The White House informed Congress about the chemical weapons use in letters to Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and John McCain, R-Ariz., on Thursday. These announcements are the first U.S. indication of confidence in claims of Syria’s chemical weapons use.
“The intelligence community has been assessing information for some time on this issue,” Hagel said. “The decision to make this conclusion was reached in the last 24 hours.”
The Defense secretary, speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi, also said the U.S. government believes “any use of chemical weapons in Syria very likely originated” with the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
President Obama has said the use of chemical weapons would be a “red line” that could trigger U.S. reaction.
But the assessment of likely chemical weapon use in Syria will not automatically trigger action, including military intervention, said a senior Defense department official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the issue.
More: Syrian Blood Tests Positive for Sarin Gas, U.S. Spies Say
Horse apples.