A US military response to alleged chemical weapons attacks in Syria appeared more likely yesterday after Washington dismissed the Syrian government’s offer to allow UN inspection of the sites as “too late to be credible.”
A senior official of the US administration said there was little doubt the Syrian government had used chemical weapons against civilians in suburbs of Damascus last week and that President Barack Obama was weighing how to respond.
A year ago, Obama said the use of chemical weapons in Syria’s war would be a “red line” for the US. However, Obama has been reluctant to intervene in Syria and US officials stressed that he has yet to make a decision on how to respond.
The evidence available has been significantly corrupted
US lawmakers from both parties urged a limited American military response, such as cruise missile strikes, but a senior Democrat, Senator Jack Reed, cautioned that any move by Washington should not be unilateral.
Senator Bob Corker, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, said he had discussed the issue with the administration in the past week and believed Obama would ask Congress for authorisation for intervention once Congress returns from its recess on September 9.
“I think we will respond in a surgical way and I hope the President as soon as we get back to Washington will ask for authorisation from Congress to do something in a very surgical and proportional way,” he told Fox News Sunday.
Americans strongly oppose US intervention in Syria’s civil war and believe Washington should stay out of the conflict, a Reuters/Ipsos poll says .
The senior US official made clear that the Syrian government’s move was inadequate, saying that if the Syrians had nothing to hide they would have let the inspectors in five days ago after the attack was reported.
“At this juncture, any belated decision by the regime to grant access to the UN team would be considered too late to be credible, including because the evidence available has been significantly corrupted as a result of the regime’s persistent shelling and other intentional actions over the last five days,” the official said.