The US sees “very little doubt” Syria used chemical weapons against civilians - something President Obama had described as a “red line.” However, Moscow has reminded Washington of similar mistakes over Iraq, and warned it not to breach international law.
A senior Obama administration official said on Sunday that the US
intelligence community based its assessment on "the reported
number of victims, reported symptoms of those who were killed or
injured, and witness accounts," AP reports.
This comes as the US military has presented President Barack Obama with potential
options for action in Syria and US Secretary of Defense Chuck
Hagel has indicated the Pentagon is ready to exercise these
options, should Obama give the order.
Russia warned that the alleged chemical attack could have been a
staged “provocation” by the Syrian opposition forces and
said US rhetoric recalled the allegations preceding the invasion
of Iraq.
“All of this makes one recall the events that happened 10
years ago, when, using false information about Iraqis having
weapons of mass destructions, the US bypassed the United Nations
and started a scheme whose consequences are well known to
everyone,” the Russian Foreign ministry said in a statement.
“Once again we call not to repeat past mistakes, not to allow
actions that contradict international law,” the ministry
said.
On Sunday Syria gave the “green light” for UN experts to
visit the site of an alleged chemical weapons attack in a
Damascus suburb. The UN said its chemical weapons experts will
start probing the site in the suburb of Ghouta as early as
Monday.
Moscow has welcomed the move but has called on all the sides,
“trying to influence the results of the investigation in
advance,” not to “make tragic mistakes.”
However Washington has not been satisfied with the agreement,
saying that Syria’s offer to allow UN inspectors access to the
attack site was “too late to be credible.”
Meanwhile the Pentagon is moving naval forces closer to Syria in
preparation for an order to attack from Obama. Reports say that
among the military options under consideration are missile
strikes on Syrian units believed to be responsible for the
chemical attack, or on Assad's air force and ballistic missile
sites.
Reports suggest the British navy is also preparing to take part
in a possible series of cruise missile strikes. According to The
Telegraph citing sources within the UK government, military
action that was agreed could begin within the next week.