Baird says chemical attack would prompt intervention
Won’t confirm whether Canada would participate
OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird warned Tuesday the world “will not sit back” if the Syrian government uses chemical weapons against its own people.
However, he stopped short of saying whether Canada would participate in an international intervention if that troubling scenario occurs.
In recent days, speculation has mounted over whether Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces might launch a chemical attack. Speaking from Morocco where he will sit down this week with Syrian opposition leaders and representatives from more than 100 countries, Baird said the threat posed by Assad’s chemical weapons remains “top of mind.”
CTV News has reported Canada’s Foreign Affairs and Defence departments are drawing up plans to deploy a special forces unit that specializes in hazardous material such as chemical and biological weapons as well as a Foreign Affairs disaster response team.
“The Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons on a civilian population is something that is incredibly unwise and something they should not do,” Baird said when asked about the report. “The international community will not sit back. We will continue to work with our closest friends and allies.”
Last week, Baird was similarly noncommittal about Canadian military action fol- lowing a media report from France that some NATO members are preparing a military strike should Syria use its chemical-weapon stockpiles.
Fears the Syrian military was readying its chemical weapons after suffering a number of setbacks in its fight against antigovernment rebels were stoked last week following warnings from U.S. intelligence officials.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Tuesday he remained concerned about illegal weapons being used even though he acknowledged there were no new indications the Syrian government was closer to using them.
“At this point, the intelligence has really kind of levelled off,” he told reporters travelling with him to Kuwait, according to the Associated Press. “We haven’t seen anything new indicating any aggressive steps to move forward in that way.”
Panetta indicated Assad may have decided to back away from using chemical weapons.
“I like to believe he’s got the message. We’ve made it pretty clear. Others have as well.”
The Syrian government has rejected allegations it is about to deploy chemical weapons, describing the reports as a pretext for Western military intervention.
Others have also questioned the claims, given similar warnings about Syria’s chemical weapons last year.
While Baird acknowledged Syria having chemical weapons is not new, “there is considerable concern that some recent actions by the Syrian regime have indicated they are beginning to mobilize to be in a position where they could use them.”
Baird is expected to announce at the Friends of Syria meeting that Canada will be providing more humanitarian assistance to help the estimated 500,000 Syrians forced from their homes as a result of the 20-month conflict.
An estimated 40,000 people have been killed since the Syrian government launched a crackdown on anti-Assad protesters in March 2011.
Baird will also discuss the presence of Islamic extremists in Syria’s opposition movement after the United States designated one of those groups, Jabhat al-Nusra, a terrorist organization.