Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that it is “undeniable”
that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its own people.
Kerry’s comments come in response to a chemical attack that some
Syrian activists say killed up to 1,300 people outside Damascus last
week.
“What we saw in Syria last week should shock the conscience of the world,” Kerry stated.
Kerry railed against those that believed the Aug. 21 chemical attack was a fabricated event.
“Anyone who could claim that an attack of this staggering scale could
be contrived or fabricated needs to check their conscience or their own
moral compass,” Kerry said.
With Syrian government officials firing at United Nations
investigators and not allowing them at the attack site, Kerry said that
“it is too late” for President Bashar Assad’s regime to be credible and
that they will be held accountable.
“Make no mistake, President Obama said there must be accountability
for those who would use the world’s most heinous weapons against the
world’s most vulnerable people,” Kerry said.
Kerry, who accused Assad of destroying evidence, added that the U.S.
knows that the regime has the capability to carry out these types of
attacks with the rockets they possess.
“What is before us today is real and it is compelling,” Kerry said.
“Our understanding of what is already happened in Syria is grounded in
facts, informed by conscience and guided by common sense.”
Kerry revealed that the Obama administration has been in close
contact with Congress and that the president has reached out to allied
worldwide about the situation.
Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad told The Associated
Press that a strike against Syria would trigger worldwide “chaos.”
Earlier Monday the ranking Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Republican urged a “surgical” U .S. air strike against Syria in reprisal
for Bashar Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons.
Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee told NBC’s “Today” show that “I do think
action is going to occur” militarily in response to the purported
chemical weapons use last week in a Damascus suburb.
Corker said the Obama administration “feels like there’s no question
chemicals were used” and says it is seeking to rally its NATO allies to
support a military response.
He added, quote, “I think it should be surgical, it should be
proportional. It should be responsive to what happened on the ground.”
But Corker also said, “I think we can get that right without us getting mired in a conflict.”
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, only 9 percent of Americans believe the U.S. should intervene in Syria militarily.
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