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| Secretary of State John Kerry speaks at the State Department in Washington, Monday, Aug. 26, 2013, about the situation in Syria. Kerry said chemical weapons were used in Syria, and accused Assad of destroying evidence. |
WASHINGTON
(AP) -- Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday outlined the clearest
justification yet for U.S. military action in Syria, saying there was
"undeniable" evidence of a large-scale chemical weapons attack, with
intelligence strongly signaling that Bashar Assad's regime was
responsible.
Kerry, speaking to reporters at the State Department, said last week's attack "should shock the conscience" of the world.
"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.
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 more than two years ago.
Two
administration officials said the U.S. was expected to make public a
more formal determination of chemical weapons use on Tuesday, with an
announcement of Obama's response likely to follow quickly. The officials
insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly
discuss the internal deliberations.
The
international community appeared to be considering action that would
punish Assad for deploying deadly gases, not sweeping measures aimed at
ousting the Syrian leader or strengthening rebel forces. The focus of
the internal debate underscores the scant international appetite for a
large-scale deployment of forces in Syria and the limited number of
other options that could significantly change the trajectory of the
conflict.
"We continue to believe that there's
no military solution here that's good for the Syrian people, and that
the best path forward is a political solution," State Department
spokeswoman Marie Harf said. "This is about the violation of an
international norm against the use of chemical weapons and how we should
respond to that. "
The Obama administration
was moving ahead even as a United Nations team already on the ground in
Syria collected evidence from last week's attack. The U.S. said Syria's
delay in giving the inspectors access rendered their investigation
meaningless and officials said the administration had its own
intelligence confirming chemical weapons use.
"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."
The U.S. 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.
Officials
stopped short of unequivocally stating that Assad's government was
behind the attack. But they said there was "very little doubt" that it
originated with the regime, noting that Syria's rebel forces do not
appear to have access to the country's chemical weapons stockpile.
Assad
has denied launching a chemical attack. The U.N. team came under sniper
fire Monday as it traveled to the site of the Aug. 21 attack.
It's
unclear whether Obama would seek authority from the U.N. or Congress
before using force. The president has spoken frequently about his
preference for taking military action only with international backing,
but it is likely Russia and China would block U.S. efforts to authorize
action through the U.N. Security Council.
Kerry
on Monday made several veiled warnings to Russia, which has propped up
Assad's regime, blocked action against Syria at the U.N., 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 like Kerry 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 on 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.
More than
100,000 people have died in clashes between forces loyal to Assad and
rebels trying to oust him from power over the past two and a half years.
While Obama has repeatedly called for Assad to leave power, he has
resisted calls for a robust U.S. intervention, and has largely limited
American assistance to humanitarian aid. The president said last year
that chemical weapons use would cross a "red line" and would likely
change his calculus in deciding on a U.S. response.
Last
week's attack in the Damascus suburbs is a challenge to Obama's
credibility. He took little action after Assad used chemical weapons on a
small scale earlier this year and risks signaling to countries like
Iran that his administration does not follow through on its warnings.
Syrian activists say the Aug. 21 attack killed hundreds; the group Doctors Without Borders put the death toll at 355 people.
The
most likely U.S. military action would be to launch Tomahawk cruise
missiles off U.S. warships in the Mediterranean. The Navy last week
moved a fourth destroyer into the eastern Mediterranean.
Officials
said it was likely the targets would be tied to the regime's ability to
launch chemical weapons attacks. Possible targets would include
weapons arsenals, command and control centers, radar and communications
facilities, and other military headquarters. Less likely was a strike on
a chemical weapons site because of the risk of releasing toxic gases.
Military
experts and U.S. officials on Monday said that the precision strikes
would probably come during the night and target key military sites.
The
president has ruled out putting American troops on the ground in Syria
and officials say they also are not considering setting up a unilateral
no-fly zone.
On Capitol Hill, bipartisan support for a military response appeared to be building.
Rep.
Adam Schiff, a California Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee,
backed the idea of targeted strikes against key Syrian infrastructure,
saying it would both be a deterrent to future use and carry "less risk
of drawing us in further, or spreading the conflict."
Republican
Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee said he would support "a surgical,
proportional strike" against the Assad regime, but called on the
administration to seek congressional authorization for such actions.
In
another sign that a U.S. response may be fast-approaching, the White
House on Monday was reaching out to congressional leaders. A spokesman
for House Speaker John Boehner said the Ohio Republican had "preliminary
communication" with White House officials about the situation in Syria
and a potential American response.
Kerry made a
series of private calls Monday to senior lawmakers to talk about the
situation in Syria, congressional aides said. Kerry told the senators
and congressmen that officials are sure the Assad regime has used
chemical weapons, the aides said. But he offered no indication on plans
for responses, saying the U.S. was still coordinating with allies.
The aides spoke anonymously because they weren't authorized to provide details of the private discussions
Syria
was also the subject of a call Monday between Obama and Australian
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
The White House said the two leaders
discussed possible responses by the international community to the use
of chemical weapons near Damascus. And as part of ongoing consultations,
Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice met with a delegation of top
Israeli officials. The White House said topics covered were
developments in Iran, Egypt, Syria and other regional security issues.
It's
unlikely that the U.S. would launch a strike against Syria while the
United Nations team is still in the country. The administration may also
try to time any strike around Obama's travel schedule - he's due to
hold meetings in Sweden and Russia next week - in order to avoid having
the commander in chief abroad when the U.S. launches military action.
U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday countered the U.S. claim that
the investigation at the site of last week's attack was too little, too
late.
"Despite the passage of a number of
days, the secretary-general is confident that the team will be able to
obtain and analyze evidence relevant for its investigation of the August
21 incident," U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said in New York
