President Barack Obama expands on what his administration is doing in response to reports that chemical weapons may have been used by the Syrian regime.By John Newland, Staff Writer, NBC NewsPresident Barack Obama said Tuesday that the U.S. has evidence that chemical weapons were used in Syria’s brutal civil war but that it remains unclear who used them.
In a White House press conference, Obama said there is “some evidence” that the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad used the weapons, but urged against rushing to judgment, saying more facts must be known before any action should be taken.
“When I am making decisions about America’s national security and the potential for taking additional action in terms of chemical weapons use, I’ve got to make sure I’ve got the facts,” he said.
As in the past, Obama referred to chemical weapons use as a “game-changer.”
But he gave no indication that the U.S. or its allies would step up action against the Assad regime, adding that as long ago as last year he had asked the Pentagon to prepare options on Syria, but he declined to elaborate on any plans.
“By ‘game-changer’ I mean that we would have to rethink the range of options that are available to us,” he said.
“Obviously, there are options … that are on the shelf right now that we have not deployed,” the president added.
The primary incident of alleged chemical weapons use came on March 19 (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/19/17370550-suffocating-in-the-streets-chemical-weapons-attack-reported-in-syria?lite), when rebel and government forces were engaged in heavy fighting in a strategically important town near the city of Aleppo.
Syria’s state news agency SANA said 25 people were killed and dozens more were injured; they blamed the attack on rebels.
Rebel forces, meanwhile, said government forces had delivered a chemical agent with a Scud missile.
Both sides described civilians panicking, having breathing difficulties and convulsing, and both sides continue to blame each other.
Obama’s comments came on a day when violence in Syria included a bombing in central Damascus (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/30/17982801-bomb-blast-in-syrias-capital-kills-at-least-13?lite) that killed at least 13 people and injured scores more, according to state media and the Britain-based Human Rights Watch.
Syria’s two-year civil war has claimed more than 70,000 lives, according to the United Nations.
The U.S. and other countries have provided aid to rebels but have stopped short of committing to further involvement in the battle to overthrow Assad.
Related:
Obama cautions against rush to action in Syria (http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/30/17985348-obama-cautions-against-rush-to-action-in-syria?lite)
Obama reiterates chemical weapons would be 'game-changer' (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/26/17926504-obama-reiterates-chemical-weapons-would-be-game-changer?lite)
More NBC News coverage of Syria (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/syria)
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