ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – U.S. intelligence agencies have preliminarily concluded that forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons “on a small scale,” Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday.
The chemical in question was sarin, a lethal nerve agent, Hagel said. He declined to say where or when the sarin was used, but he put the blame squarely on Assad and said the U.S. government would continue to investigate.
Graphic
Interactive Grid: Keeping track of the conflict in Syria through videos, images and tweets.
Latest stories on Syria
Craig Whitlock
Conclusion is preliminary, White House says, and will not necessarily trigger U.S. intervention in conflict.
Justin Salhani
After two years of conflict, supporters of the Syrian president long for the security and stability he provided.
Craig Whitlock
Defense secretary says of failure to mention assessment in meetings: “I guess it wasn’t complete.”
Anne Gearan and William Booth
U.S. officials sound wary of new allegations that Assad’s regime has used such munitions on rebel forces.
Max Ehrenfreund
Israeli officials said Tuesday the Syrian government had deployed chemical weapons against rebels
William Booth and Craig Whitlock
Assertion, following similar statements by France and Britain, add to pressure on U.S. to intervene.
Karen DeYoung
As the U.S. weighs concerns over arming Syrian rebels, neighboring Qatar’s role poses a challenge.
“This is serious business,” Hagel said. “We need to get all the facts.”
Hagel said the intelligence agencies’ assessment was reached with “varying degrees of confidence,” meaning that they lacked proof or overwhelming evidence. He said the conclusion was “reached within the last 24 hours” and that the White House delivered a letter to key members of Congress outlining the findings Thursday morning.
The assessment was partly based on “physiological samples,” said the letter, which was sent to Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chair of the Armed Services Committee; John McCain (R-Ariz); and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). “The United States and the international community have a number of potential responses available, and no option is off the table.”
McCain and Graham are part of a group of senators who have been pushing the White House to expand its involvement in the Syria conflict. After receiving the letter, McCain told reporters he believes the U.S. finding adds to the urgency,
The Obama administration has repeatedly declared that it would not tolerate the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Obama has called it a “red line” and had previously warned Assad not to allow a chemical attack in a civil war that has taken an estimated 70,000 lives over the past two years.
Hagel did not say how the Obama administration would respond to the use of chemical weapons, but said “my job is to give the president options.” He added, “We’ll be prepared to do that.”
A senior U.S. defense official said the Pentagon didn’t want to repeat the mistakes of the Iraq war, when the administration of former president George W. Bush deposed Saddam Hussein based on erroneous intelligence assessments that he possessed weapons of mass destruction.
“Don’t take from this that this is an automatic trigger,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. “We have seen very bad movies before when intelligence is perceived to have driven policy decisions that, in the cold light of day, have been proven wrong.”
The White House letter said, “Precisely because the President takes this issue so seriously, we have an obligation to fully investigate any and all evidence of chemical weapons use within Syria. That is why we are currently pressing for a comprehensive United Nations investigation that can credibly evaluate the evidence and established what took place.”
Britain and France — who notified the United Nations last week that they believe Assad has used chemical weapons — also support such an inquiry. Assad, however, has accused Syrian rebel forces of obtaining and using chemical weapons, and has asked U.N. inspectors to examine only that allegation. U.N. officials said earlier this month that discussion of a broader inquiry were at an impasse.
Syria possesses one of the world’s largest inventories of chemical weapons, including sarin and other nerve agents. The country has not signed the international treaty banning the weapons.
The Obama administration so far has resisted increasing pressure to provide weapons to the Syrian opposition, in part because U.S. officials fear the weapons could wind up in the hands of extremists or kick off an arms race with Iran and Russia, the two major supporters of the Assad government.
In letters last week to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, France and Britain said there was credible evidence that Syria had used chemical weapons on more than one occasion since December. According to senior diplomats and officials briefed on the accounts, the evidence included soil samples and witness interviews that point toward nerve agents used in and around the cities of Aleppo, Homs and Damascus.
Israel made its own assertions earlier this week, saying it had concluded that forces loyal to Assad had used chemical weapons on several occasions to kill dozens of rebel fighters. The officials said their evidence, including photographs that show suspected victims foaming at the mouth, made them “nearly 100 percent certain.”
Senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State John F. Kerry and James R. Clapper Jr., director of national intelligence, have urged caution in recent days. They have said that further evaluation was necessary to determine the extent and scope of Syria’s suspected use of its chemical weapons.
Russian Foreign Secretary Sergei Lavrov charged earlier this week that “certain Western members” of the U.N. Security Council were politicizing efforts to determine whether chemical weapons had been used in Syria. He compared it to the hunt for nuclear weapons in Iraq a decade ago.
Anne Gearan in Washington contributed to this report.
The chemical in question was sarin, a lethal nerve agent, Hagel said. He declined to say where or when the sarin was used, but he put the blame squarely on Assad and said the U.S. government would continue to investigate.
Graphic
Interactive Grid: Keeping track of the conflict in Syria through videos, images and tweets.
Latest stories on Syria
Craig Whitlock Conclusion is preliminary, White House says, and will not necessarily trigger U.S. intervention in conflict.
Justin Salhani After two years of conflict, supporters of the Syrian president long for the security and stability he provided.
Craig Whitlock Defense secretary says of failure to mention assessment in meetings: “I guess it wasn’t complete.”
Anne Gearan and William Booth U.S. officials sound wary of new allegations that Assad’s regime has used such munitions on rebel forces.
Max Ehrenfreund Israeli officials said Tuesday the Syrian government had deployed chemical weapons against rebels
William Booth and Craig Whitlock Assertion, following similar statements by France and Britain, add to pressure on U.S. to intervene.
Karen DeYoung As the U.S. weighs concerns over arming Syrian rebels, neighboring Qatar’s role poses a challenge.
“This is serious business,” Hagel said. “We need to get all the facts.”
Hagel said the intelligence agencies’ assessment was reached with “varying degrees of confidence,” meaning that they lacked proof or overwhelming evidence. He said the conclusion was “reached within the last 24 hours” and that the White House delivered a letter to key members of Congress outlining the findings Thursday morning.
The assessment was partly based on “physiological samples,” said the letter, which was sent to Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chair of the Armed Services Committee; John McCain (R-Ariz); and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). “The United States and the international community have a number of potential responses available, and no option is off the table.”
McCain and Graham are part of a group of senators who have been pushing the White House to expand its involvement in the Syria conflict. After receiving the letter, McCain told reporters he believes the U.S. finding adds to the urgency,
The Obama administration has repeatedly declared that it would not tolerate the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Obama has called it a “red line” and had previously warned Assad not to allow a chemical attack in a civil war that has taken an estimated 70,000 lives over the past two years.
Hagel did not say how the Obama administration would respond to the use of chemical weapons, but said “my job is to give the president options.” He added, “We’ll be prepared to do that.”
A senior U.S. defense official said the Pentagon didn’t want to repeat the mistakes of the Iraq war, when the administration of former president George W. Bush deposed Saddam Hussein based on erroneous intelligence assessments that he possessed weapons of mass destruction.
“Don’t take from this that this is an automatic trigger,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. “We have seen very bad movies before when intelligence is perceived to have driven policy decisions that, in the cold light of day, have been proven wrong.”
The White House letter said, “Precisely because the President takes this issue so seriously, we have an obligation to fully investigate any and all evidence of chemical weapons use within Syria. That is why we are currently pressing for a comprehensive United Nations investigation that can credibly evaluate the evidence and established what took place.”
Britain and France — who notified the United Nations last week that they believe Assad has used chemical weapons — also support such an inquiry. Assad, however, has accused Syrian rebel forces of obtaining and using chemical weapons, and has asked U.N. inspectors to examine only that allegation. U.N. officials said earlier this month that discussion of a broader inquiry were at an impasse.
Syria possesses one of the world’s largest inventories of chemical weapons, including sarin and other nerve agents. The country has not signed the international treaty banning the weapons.
The Obama administration so far has resisted increasing pressure to provide weapons to the Syrian opposition, in part because U.S. officials fear the weapons could wind up in the hands of extremists or kick off an arms race with Iran and Russia, the two major supporters of the Assad government.
In letters last week to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, France and Britain said there was credible evidence that Syria had used chemical weapons on more than one occasion since December. According to senior diplomats and officials briefed on the accounts, the evidence included soil samples and witness interviews that point toward nerve agents used in and around the cities of Aleppo, Homs and Damascus.
Israel made its own assertions earlier this week, saying it had concluded that forces loyal to Assad had used chemical weapons on several occasions to kill dozens of rebel fighters. The officials said their evidence, including photographs that show suspected victims foaming at the mouth, made them “nearly 100 percent certain.”
Senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State John F. Kerry and James R. Clapper Jr., director of national intelligence, have urged caution in recent days. They have said that further evaluation was necessary to determine the extent and scope of Syria’s suspected use of its chemical weapons.
Russian Foreign Secretary Sergei Lavrov charged earlier this week that “certain Western members” of the U.N. Security Council were politicizing efforts to determine whether chemical weapons had been used in Syria. He compared it to the hunt for nuclear weapons in Iraq a decade ago.
Anne Gearan in Washington contributed to this report.