Fears mount: 6,000 Syrians flee,
‘Strong signal’ needed: Obama
With U.S. President Barack Obama declaring unequivocally that the Syrian government has carried out a deadly chemical weapons attack on civilians, fears over a military strike against the country rippled across the region Wednesday.
Those fears sent 6,000 Syrians fleeing to neighbouring Lebanon and Israelis scrambling for gas masks in case Damascus retaliates.
Obama did not present any evidence to back up his assertion the Syrian government bears responsibility for the attack. While he said he is still evaluating possible military retaliation, the president vowed any American response would send a “strong signal” to Syrian President Bashar Assad.
“We have concluded that the Syrian government in fact carried these out,” Obama said during an interview with PBS’s NewsHour. “And if that’s so, then there need to be international consequences.”
The White House says it’s planning a possible military response while seeking support from international partners.
Seven days after chemical weapons were purportedly unleashed on rebel-held suburbs of the Syrian capital, many now believe a U.S. strike is inevitable. However UN chief Ban Ki-moon pleaded Wednesday for more time for diplomacy and to allow UN investigators to complete their work. The experts, wearing flak jackets and helmets, collected blood and urine samples from victims during a visit to at least one of the areas hit in last week’s attack.
At the same time, Syria’s chief allies, Russia and Iran, warned of dire consequences for the region if any armed intervention is undertaken.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said attacking Syria would be catastrophic for the entire Middle East.
The UN inspectors have not endorsed the U.S. allegations, although the UN envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, said evidence suggests some kind of “substance” was used that killed hundreds.
Senior administration officials said U.S. intelligence agencies are drawing up a report laying out the evidence against Assad’s government.
A classified version would be sent to key members of Congress and a declassified version would be made public.
One of the officials said the administration is considering more than a single set of military strikes and “the options are not limited just to one day” of assault.
“If there is action taken, it must be clearly defined what the objective is and why” and based on “clear facts,” the senior administration official said on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss internal deliberations publicly.
Obama is weighing a limited response that focuses on punishing the Syrian government for violating international agreements that bar the use of chemical weapons.
Any U.S. military action, officials say, would not be aimed at toppling the Assad regime or vastly altering the course of Syria’s civil war, which has already claimed 100,000 dead.