The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap." Isaiah 17:1
DAMASCUS—The
Arab League said Tuesday that Damascus had used chemical weapons
against its population, and Western governments discussed military
responses to the attacks, as Syria's foreign minister vowed that his
country would defend itself against any foreign attack.
French
and U.K. military officials held talks with their American counterparts
about coordinating their response to alleged chemical attacks last week
near Damascus that activists and rebels said left more than 1,000
Syrians dead.
The U.S. Defense Department, meanwhile, has presented military options to President Barack Obama,
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said, without outlining them. Defense
officials have said the U.S. is considering cruise-missile strikes from
navy ships in the Mediterranean.
"We are ready to go," he said.
The
U.S. is examining ways to attack Syria without the approval of the
United Nations, where Russia would likely veto any military action, U.S.
and European officials have said. The Obama administration has recently
stepped up contacts with North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Arab
League allies about supporting a military operation against Damascus.
While
the Arab League's accusation on Tuesday bolstered the U.S. case for
military strikes, the group stressed that the perpetrators should be
brought to justice in an international forum.
The
league "demands that all those involved in this heinous crime be
presented for international trials," according to the statement. The
league urged its member states and the international community to issue
the necessary "resolutions against the perpetrators of this crime, for
which the Syrian regime bears responsibility, and to put an end to the
violations and crimes of genocide that the Syrian regime has carried out
for over two years."
The statement came a day after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said
there was undeniable evidence that chemical weapons had been used in an
attack he characterized as a "moral obscenity." On Tuesday, Vice
President Joe Biden said there was "no doubt" that the Assad regime was behind the attack.
"There
is no doubt that an essential international norm has been violated,"
Mr. Biden said at the American Legion's annual convention in Houston.
"No one doubts that innocent men, women and children have been the
victims of chemical weapons attacks in Syria. And there is no doubt who
is responsible for this heinous use of chemical weapons in Syria: the
Syrian regime."
U.S. officials have said they expect to release evidence in coming days that Syria's regime was behind the attacks.
France's
President François Hollande vowed Tuesday to "punish" the regime of
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for what he said was its likely use of
chemical weapons in recent attacks near Damascus.
Mr.
Hollande, addressing ambassadors at the Élysée Palace, pressed his case
for the West to respond to the attack with "necessary force" targeting
the Assad regime.
"This
mass chemical massacre cannot go unanswered," he said. "France is ready
to punish those who made the horrible decision to gas innocents."
Syria
"utterly and completely" rejects the allegations that it used chemical
weapons, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said Tuesday. He added
that Syria would defend itself by means available. "We will surprise
others" planning to attack Damascus, he said.
"We
are hearing the drums of war," Mr. Moallem added. "They want to attack
Syria. I believe to use chemical weapons as a pretext is trite and
inaccurate." source - WSJ
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