Obama: “There will be consequences” if Syria uses chemical weapons against its people
President Obama has issued a stern warning to the Assad regime in Syria against the use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people. The White House said it had an “increased concern” that the government of President Bashar al-Assad was preparing to use such weapons, reporting increased activity at chemical weapons sites.
“Today I want to make it absolutely clear to Assad and those under his command: The world is watching,” Mr. Obama said in a speech at the National Defense University in Washington. “The use of chemical weapons is and would be totally unacceptable. If you make the tragic mistake of using these weapons, there will be consequences and you will be held accountable.” This implies that the Obama administration is prepared to go so far as to use military force in Syria, a step it has been highly resistant to taking during the majority of the conflict. Reportedly a U.S. special operations training team is in the neighboring country of Jordan, teaching troops there how to safely secure chemical weaponry. But so far nobody within the administration will say directly if that option is on the table.
“We think it is important to prepare for all scenarios,” said presidential press secretary Jay Carney. “Contingency planning is the responsible thing to do.”
“This is a red line for the United States,” said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said. “I am not going to telegraph in any specifics what we would do in the event of credible evidence that the Assad regime has resorted to using chemical weapons against their own people. But suffice it to say, we are certainly planning to take action if that eventuality were to occur.”
There can be no questioning the violence in Syria has taken a dramatic spike. Damascus, once one of the safer cities in Syria and the epicenter of government activity, has been infiltrated by intense battles. “I have not allowed my children to go to school for the past few days,” said one Damascus resident, “the way is not safe.” NATO is preparing to defend Turkey, one of its members, from a possible attack from Syria. Syria has expressed hostility toward Turkey, its northern neighbor, for supporting the Free Syrian Army. Foreign ministers within the NATO alliance are calling for the deployment of American, German and Dutch Patriot missile-defense batteries under the operational control of the NATO military command.
