Syria in the Gunsights

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney expressed doubts that the Syrian opposition had used chemical weapons. "We find it highly likely that any chemical weapon use that has taken place in Syria was done by the Assad regime."

 

   Members of Congress, including Democrats, also keep pounding the drums for war, despite Del Ponte's comments. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, submitted legislation that would officially authorize the Obama administration to arm the opposition groups.

 

   "The Assad regime has crossed a red line that forces us to consider all options," Menendez said in a written statement.

 

  The New York Times reported that the U.S. and Britain are in secret talks about coordinated air strikes against Syria.

 

     The talk of intervention by the U.S. comes as a major ally, Israel, launched a unilateral and devastating missile attack against a military research center near Damascus.   Dozens of Syrian military were killed.   Israel said the attack was done to stop the flow of Syrian aid to the militant group Hezbollah, which Israel views as terrorist.

 

      The quick downplaying of Del Ponte's claims about rebel use of sarin gas is reminiscent of the lead-up to the Iraq War, when officials of the administration of then President George W. Bush insisted that they had information showing that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein   possessed weapons of mass destruction, thereby justifying an invasion and regime change. Counter claims by a few skeptics, such as former UN weapons inspectors, that there were no weapons, were given little credence and got almost no attention in the press.

 

   The US invaded Iraq in March of 2003, with a UN weapons inspection team still doing its work and having reached no conclusion. Months later, the team finished its job, with no weapons found. An administration-sanctioned inspection group also found no weapons.

 

    Just as the Bush administration violated international law in pushing the idea of "preventive war" with Iraq, the Obama administration would be violating international law in either plotting an invasion of Syria or sending lethal aid to opposition forces. The United Nations Charter, which the U.S. is party to, prohibits "the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state."

 

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