Kerry's "Slam Dunk"? Syria Update...

Kerry: Syrian Government Launched Chemical Attack

Voice of America

Secretary of State John Kerry says U.S. intelligence indicates the Syrian government is responsible for last week's alleged chemical weapons attack but he stopped short of saying how the U.S. may respond.

Kerry says the evidence, presented in a declassified version of a report on Friday, shows more than 1,400 Syrians were killed in the attack near Damascus, including at least 426 children.

He said the findings show a Syrian chemical weapons team was in the area of the attacks three days before it occurred. He also says rockets were only fired from regime-controlled areas and only went to opposition controlled or contested neighborhoods.

Kerry says the intelligence report includes intercepted communications in which a senior Syrian official confirms the poison gas attack.

The secretary of state did not indicate what action President Barack Obama may take but said the U.S. would make its own decision on its own timeline.

He called Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a "thug" and a "murderer," and said his regime was guilty of a crime against humanity.

President Obama met with his top national security advisers on Friday to discuss a possible U.S. response to Syria's crisis.

The meeting took place a day after members of Congress received an intelligence briefing on the attack.

Earlier Friday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the United States would continue to seek an international coalition in response to the Syrian regime's alleged use of chemical weapons, despite opposition by British lawmakers to any military action.

He commented after Britain's lower house of Parliament rejected a motion for British participation in a military strike.

The non-binding vote is a setback for British Prime Minister David Cameron, who told lawmakers a military strike would be a response to a war crime, not an attempt to topple the Syrian government.

Cameron says it is important for Britain to uphold the "international taboo on the use of chemical weapons."

"We will continue to take a case to the United Nations. We will continue to work in all the organizations we're members of, whether the EU or NATO or the G8 or the G20, to condemn what's happened in Syria," he added.

French President Francois Hollande on Friday said the British vote will not affect his country's position on Syria. In an interview with Le Monde newspaper, he said the "chemical massacre" in Damascus could not go unpunished.

Germany also appears to be backing away from any military intervention in Syria. Government officials say a military commitment has not been requested and is not being considered.

Syria denies carrying out a chemical attack and accuses the rebels of using such weapons on Syrian soldiers. In Rome, supporters of Syrian President al-Assad rallied on Friday to voice opposition to any foreign military intervention in the country.

In Syria, a U.N. team has finished collecting samples from the sites of last week's alleged poison gas attacks. A spokesperson said Friday the team will try to expedite an analysis of the data. The team is due to leave Syria by Saturday.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is discussing developments in Syria with the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council on Friday.

Earlier this week, diplomats from Russia and China indicated unwillingness to support a British-draft resolution on possible military action against Syria.