State Dept. says we
made no proposal, but we'll see if they accept it
At an afternoon news conference at the State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf responded skeptically to questions about putting Syrian chemical weapons under international control, calling it a hypothetical idea that she can't comment on. She reiterated the government's position that Kerry was not making a proposal, that his morning comments were only "rhetorical and hypothetical."
Harf also said: "We're going to look at what's on the table... We don't want this to be another stalling exercise, and we have serious skepticism about the Assad regime [willingness] to get rid of their chemical weapons". All we've heard today are statements from Russians and Syrians who've lied for the last two years."
Despite suspicion about the international control proposal, Harf did say: "We'll take a hard look at it... but what we're focused on ... is working with Congress to get this [attack on Syria] authorized."
At a White House briefing, deputy National Security Advisor Tony Blinked said, without referring to the Iran-Iraq War: "If we don't act, the international norm against the use of chemical weapons will be weakened." But he also said: "we want to look hard at what the Russians have proposed."
At a mid-afternoon forum on illegal wildlife trafficking, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she had just talked to President Obama about the Russian proposal on Syrian arms. She said the international community should make a "strong response" to events in Syria: "This is about protecting the Syrian people... and our friends in the regions... If the regime immediately surrendered its stockpiles to international control... that would be an important step. But this cannot be another excuse for delay or obstruction."
Toward the end of the day, Dan Roberts, bureau chief of the Guardian, tweets: "febrile mood down in White House press room as Obama tapes six interviews for tonight while US position shifting by the minute toward a deal"
In one of those interviews, the president said he would "absolutely" not attack Syria if the chemical weapons were secured. He told ABC News: "My objective here has always been to deal with a very specific problem. If we can do that without a military strike, that is overwhelmingly my preference."
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