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FILE - In this Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2013 file citizen journalism image provided by the United media office of Arbeen which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, a member of a UN investigation team takes samples of sands near a part of a missile is likely to be one of the chemical rockets according to activists, in the Damascus countryside of Ain Terma, Syria. The intelligence linking the Syrian regime and President Bashar Assad to the alleged chemical weapons attack that killed at least 100 Syrians is no “slam dunk,” with questions remaining about who actually controls some of Syria's chemical weapons stores and doubts about whether Assad himself ordered the strike, U.S. intelligence officials say. (AP)
President Barack Obama made the case on Wednesday for a limited military strike against Syria in response to last week's chemical weapons attack even as he faced new obstacles with British allies and US lawmakers that could delay any imminent action.
Casting the need for intervention in Syria's civil war on the basis of US national security interests instead of humanitarian grounds, Obama presented his clearest justification to war-weary Americans for confronting Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's government with "international consequences”.
While saying he had not yet made a decision on military action, Obama left little doubt that the choice was not whether to act but when to retaliate for last Wednesday's gas attacks, which killed hundreds of people in a rebel-held suburb of Damascus.
"We have concluded that the Syrian government in fact carried these out," Obama told "PBS Newshour" in a televised interview, saying it was now important to send a message that "it better not do it again."
There were growing signs, however, that the timeline for launching any military strike on Syria could be complicated not only by the UN weapons inspectors' continued presence there but by the Obama administration's efforts to coordinate with international partners and growing demands for consultation with US lawmakers.
Britain - a key player in any air assault on Syria – changed its stance on Wednesday, saying the UN Security Council should first see findings from international weapons inspectors and the UK parliament would hold two votes before any military action is taken.
Arguing for measured intervention after long resisting deeper involvement in Syria, Obama insisted that while Assad's government must be punished, he intended to avoid repeating Washington's errors from the Iraq war.
"I have no interest in any open-ended conflict in Syria, but we do have to make sure that when countries break international norms on weapons like chemical weapons that could threaten us, that they are held accountable," Obama said.
Despite opinion polls showing most Americans oppose deeper involvement in the 2-1/2-year-old Syrian conflict, Obama has been under pressure at home and abroad to enforce the "red line" against large-scale chemical weapons use he established just over a year ago.
He argued on Wednesday that a "tailored, limited" strike, not a protracted engagement like the unpopular Iraq war, could be enough to send a strong message that the use of chemical weapons cannot be tolerated. The likeliest option, US officials said, would be to launch cruise missiles from US ships in the Mediterranean in a campaign that would last days.
Obama cited chemical weapons dangers to US Middle Eastern allies Israel, Turkey and Jordan plus US bases in the region, and said America's national interests could be at risk if Syrian chemical arms fell into the wrong hands.
COMPLAINTS FROM LAWMAKERS
Amid complaints by lawmakers that they have not been properly consulted as the president deliberates about possible military action, senior Obama administration officials plan to brief congressional leaders on Thursday on the situation in Syria, congressional aides said.
Although decisive action against Syria is strongly backed by many in the US Congress, there have been growing calls on Capitol Hill for Obama to seek congressional authorization before ordering the use of force, something he is considered unlikely to do. But wrangling over the issue could complicate any attack timetable.
In Damascus on Wednesday, people left homes close to potential targets as US officials sketched out plans for multi-national air strikes. UN chemical weapons experts completed a second field trip to rebel-held suburbs searching for evidence.
Syria's civil war has killed more than 100,000 people since 2011 and driven millions from their homes, many crossing borders into Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq.
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