US will ‘rethink’ options if confirmed that Syria used chemical weapons, says Obama

The president stopped short of saying that the US would take military action in Syria and was circumspect about how his administration would act if there was hard evidence of chemical weapons use.

Taking questions from reporters at the White House for the first time in almost two months, the president said the US required clear evidence that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons to suppress rebels trying to overthrow the regime if it is to raise international support to intervene military in the two-year civil war.

He repeated that the use of chemical weapons in Syria would be “a game changer” not just for the US but for the international community and mark an “escalation” of the threat to America and its allies.

'The facts'
The presi d ent said that he had to "make sure I've got the facts" before taking further action. The US had not yet established a "chain of custody" about how and when the weapons were used in Syria, and who had used them, he said.

“If we end up rushing to judgment without hard, effective evidence, then we can find ourselves in the position where we can’t mobilise the international community to support what we do,” said Mr Obama.

Asked whether he meant military action by describing chemical weapons use as a game changer, the president said: “We would have to rethink the range of options that are available to us.”

Mr Obama said there was a spectrum of options “on the shelf” that had not been deployed and there were “some options that we might not otherwise exercise . . . that we would strongly consider.”

The administration has resisted calls from some members of Congress to establish a no-fly zone to help rebel fighters in the country.

'Red line'
Syria's UN ambassador said chemical weapons use was not only a "red line" but a "blood line" that cannot be crossed, calling again for a UN inquiry into an alleged attack in Aleppo that the regime blames on rebels.

Bashar Ja’afari told reporters that his government had proof that chemical weapons were used in Aleppo on March 19th.

Rebels have in turn blamed the Syrian government for the attack.

The UN has renewed its plea for access to sites in Syria to investigate suspected chemical weapons use, saying that this was required for a “credible and comprehensive inquiry.”

The Syrian government wants further details of another alleged chemical weapons attack that Britain and France claim was carried out in Homs in December before allowing UN inspectors to investigate.

Asked at yesterday’s press conference about the growing hunger strike among detainees at the US-controlled Guantánamo base in Cuba, the president said that he asked his staff to renew efforts into finding a way to close the controversial detention centre and to “re-engage” with Congress which has prevented the closure.