SyriaU.S., allies prepare military strikes against Syria
Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday said that the use by the Assad regime of chemical weapons in attacks on civilians last Wednesday was undeniable. He said the Obama administration would hold the Syrian government accountable for this “cowardly crime” and “moral obscenity.” U.S. political and military leaders have been holding around-the-clock discussions with allies about a coordinated military attack on Syrian regime facilities. The United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Turkey said there was no need to seek a UN Security Council approval of military action against Syria, and that none will be sought. Administration lawyers have been crafting legal justifications for an intervention without UN approval that could be based on findings that Assad used chemical weapons and created a major humanitarian crisis. The U.S. Navy has moved more ships to the eastern Mediterranean, and activity has been stepped up in Britain’s air base in Cyprus.
U.S. Navy prepares carrier operations against Syria in the Mediterranean // Source: voc.com.cn
Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday said that the use by the Assad regime of chemical weapons in attacks on civilians last Wednesday was undeniable. He said the Obama administration would hold the Syrian government accountable for this “cowardly crime” and “moral obscenity.” Using the harshest language yet used by an administration official to denounce the Syrian regime, Kerry accused the Syrian government of cynically seeking to cover up the use of the weapons by delaying for five days access by UN inspectors to the area where the chemical weapons were used, and by using this time to destroy and corrupt evidence.
Kerry suggested that the White House has been consulting with Congress and America’s allies about the kind and scope of response, hinting it would be a military response. His words were echoed by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, who, in a press conference in Indonesia, where he is now on official visit, reiterated that the Pentagon will be ready to act when the president gave the order.
The New York Times reports that there were other signs of Western momentum toward a military response. On Monday, U.K. prime minister David Cameron cut short a holiday to fly back to London to deal with Syria. The foreign ministers of Britain and Turkey said it was not necessary to go to the UN Security Council and receive its approval for a military action against Syria, and France’s foreign minister, now on a visit to Israel, said doing nothing was unacceptable.
News media in Cyprus, where Britain maintains a military airbase which is less than 100 miles from Syria’s coast, reported stepped-up activity there in recent days.
Kerry dismissed warnings by President Bashar al-Assad of Syria and Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, against any Western military action.
“The indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity,” Kerry said. “By any standard, it is inexcusable. And despite the excuses and equivocations that some have manufactured, it is undeniable.”
