‘Moral obscenity’
U.S. and Britain expected to respond with force over crossing of ‘red line’
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry condemns Syrian attack,
DAMASCUS, Syria As UN experts collected samples and testimony on the ground in Syria on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry declared there is already “undeniable” evidence of a largescale chemical weapons attack in the war-torn country.
Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government vowed to defend itself against any international attack, warning that such an intervention would ignite turmoil across the region.
Speaking at the U.S. State Department, Kerry said last week’s attack was a “moral obscenity” that “should shock the conscience” of the world. Officials said there was very little doubt that the attack was perpetrated by the Syrian government. “The indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity. By any standard, it is inexcusable and — despite the excuses and equivocations that some have manufactured — it is undeniable,” said Kerry, the highest-ranking U.S. official to confirm the attack in the Damascus suburbs that activists say killed hundreds of people. “This international norm cannot be violated without consequences,” he added.
Assad has denied launching a chemical attack. The U.S. said its assessment is based in part on the number of reported victims, the symptoms of those injured or killed and witness accounts.
Administration officials said the U.S. had additional intelligence confirming chemical weapons use and planned to make it public in the coming days.
“What is before us today is real and it is compelling,” Kerry said. “Our understanding of what has already happened in Syria is grounded in facts.”
Officials said President Barack Obama has not decided how to respond to the use of deadly gases, a move the White House said last year would cross a “red line.” But the U.S., along with allies in Europe, appeared to be laying the groundwork for the most aggressive response since Syria’s civil war began.
That could bring the United States closer to a conflict that has killed more than 100,000 people since Assad cracked down on Arab Spring-inspired protesters in March 2011.
It would essentially pit the U.S. and regional allies Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar in a proxy war against Iran, which is providing weapons to the Syrian government’s counterinsurgency, along with Hezbollah, the militant Lebanese group that also has aided Assad’s forces militarily.
Deputy Foreign Minister Faysal Mikdad said that such an attack would trigger “chaos in the entire world.
“If individual countries want to pursue aggressive and adventurous policies, the natural answer … would be that Syria, which has been fighting against terrorism for almost three years, will also defend itself against any international attack,” he added. Assad told a Russian newspaper that any military campaign against his country was destined to fail.
Meanwhile, snipers opened fire Monday on the UN convoy trying to get a first-hand look at evidence of the chemical weapons strike in Syria, hitting one of the vehicles carrying a team to investigate the Aug. 21 incident. Martin Nesirky, a spokesman for UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon, said one of the UN vehicles was “deliberately shot at multiple times” in the buffer zone between rebeland government-controlled territory.
Nesirky said the car was “no longer serviceable” after the shooting, forcing the team to return to a government checkpoint to replace the vehicle. UN spokesman Farhan Haq said the tires and windshield were hit and the team plans to go out again Tuesday to do more sampling. Ban said he had instructed UN disarmament chief Angela Kane in Damascus “to register a strong complaint” with the Syrian government and opposition representatives for the convoy attack.
Both sides in the Syrian conflict blamed the other for the sniper attacks.
Activists said the inspectors eventually arrived in Moadamiyeh, a western suburb of Damascus and one of the areas where the alleged chemical attack occurred.
It’s unclear what U.S. action against the Syrian regime would mean for relations with Russia, which warned Monday against the use of force not sanctioned by the UN Security Council, calling it “a crude violation of international law.”
Kerry made several veiled warnings to Russia, which has propped up Assad’s regime, blocked action against Syria at the UN, and disputed evidence of the government’s chemical weapons use.
“Anyone who can claim that an attack of this staggering scale can be contrived or fabricated needs to check their conscience and their own moral compass,” he said.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, who cut short his vacation because of the attack, spoke Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to outline the evidence of chemical weapons use by Assad’s regime. Cameron’s office also said the British government would decide Tuesday whether the timetable for the international response means it will be necessary to recall lawmakers to Parliament before their scheduled return next week. That decision could offer the clearest indication of how quickly the U.S. and allies plan to respond.