As U.S. rethinks arming rebels, Syria says chemical weapons also a 'red line'
updated 7:06 PM EDT, Thu May 2, 2013
Syrian Interior Minister Mohammed
al-Shaar, third from right, visits the site of a blast in Damascus on
Tuesday, April 30. The Syrian government said that at least 13 people
died in what state-run TV described as a "terrorist explosion." Tensions
in Syria first flared in March 2011, escalating into a civil war that
still rages. This gallery contains the most compelling images taken
since the start of the conflict.
HIDE CAPTION
Syrian civil war in photos
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Queried on arming rebels, Obama says "we are continually evaluating the situation"
- The U.S. is rethinking whether to arm Syrian opposition fighters, Defense Secretary Hagel says
- A Syria official says rebels have used chemical weapons, which he calls a "red line" says
- U.S., France and Turkey "have a one-sided way of looking at this," he adds
The top defense official
in the United States -- whose president has called the use of chemical
weapons by Syrian forces a "game changer," as to how his and other
governments address the crisis -- said Thursday that Washington is
rethinking changing its policy of opposing providing weapons to the
rebels.
Defense Secretary Chuck
Hagel's admission -- after weeks of the United States resisting arming
the opposition, for fear the weapons could end up in the wrong hands --
comes days after a White House aide sent a letter to two U.S. senators
saying the intelligence community assessed "with varying degrees of
confidence" that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government had used
the chemical agent sarin on a "small scale."
A top Syrian official said Thursday that a line had been crossed, too -- but not by his government.
Syrian Information
Minister Omran al-Zoubi said in an exclusive interview with CNN that his
government had not, and "would never use" chemical munitions -- "if we
had them."
Yet he did say such
weapons have been used in the bloody, years-long civil war -- by
hard-line Islamist rebel groups. And while al-Zoubi insisted his
government would never use them, he said their use by others does change
things.
"President (Barack) Obama says chemical weapons are a red line," al-Zoubi said. "Then he is in direct accordance with President Assad, who also thinks that chemical weapons are a red line."
The Syrian government-run
media has been hitting home its stance that "terrorists" are handling
chemical weapons and then blaming the use of them on the government.
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For example, a Syrian
Arab News Agency reporter, citing an official source, said Thursday that
"terrorists" threw "unknown powder" in Idlib residents' faces to accuse
the army of using chemical weapons.
"In the places where
there is the opposition," al-Zoubi told CNN, "it is using chemical
weapons that evaporate, and you smell it, they are filming it, and they
are using it as alleged proof that the Syrian government is doing it."
The civil war engulfing
Syria has left around 70,000 people dead, spurred massive displacement
and caused widespread destruction.
The presence of chemical
weapons and fear of their use in the war-torn country has raised
profound alarm in world capitals, including Washington. That's because,
Obama said recently, of the weaponry's "potential of killing massive
numbers of people."
Syria denies that it has
used, or even possesses, chemical weapons, but the West has long
concluded that the country does have them. Obama previously called the
use of chemical weapons a "red line" and a "game-changer" for how the
United States approaches the war.
The United States hasn't
intervened militarily, even though it has played a major role in
drumming up opposition to al-Assad's rule.
The stakes rose last
week with the White House aide's letter, and its reference to
intelligence suggesting Syrian forces had used chemical weapons.
But after the letter,
Washington stopped short of altering its approach to Syria. The White
House aide noted that "only credible and corroborated facts" will
determine U.S. "decision-making."
In his comments to
reporters Thursday, the U.S. defense secretary said President Barack
Obama administration's decision to reconsider whether to arm opposition
fighters fits into its philosophy of "constantly evaluating" the
situation "based on all contingencies."
And just because the
United States is thinking about arming the rebels doesn't mean missiles
and more are on the way, Hagel said.
"You look at, and
rethink all options. That doesn't mean you do or you will," he said.
"These are options that must be considered with partners, with the
international community, what is possible, what can help accomplish
these objectives."
Speaking a short time
later from Mexico City, Obama said, "What Secretary Hagel said today is
what I've been saying now for months, which is we are continually
evaluating the situation on the ground working with our international
partners to find the best way to move a political transition that has
Assad leaving, stabilizes the country, ends the killing and allows the
Syrian people to determine their own destiny."
"As we've seen evidence
of further bloodshed, potential use of chemical weapons inside of Syria
... we're going to look at all options," said the president.
But before Washington
acts, the president has said there needs to be a thorough, "prudent"
investigation to determine who got chemical munitions and how they got
them, when they were used and how they were used. Any plans to get more
involved in the Syrian situation must be well thought out, he said
Thursday.
"We want to make sure
that we look before we leap and that what we're doing is actually
helpful to the situation, as opposed to making it more deadly or more
complex," Obama said.
What complicates U.S.
support for the opposition is that many of the rebel fighters are
Islamic militants with pro-al-Qaeda sympathies -- the same stripe of
militants America has battled in Iraq and Afghanistan.
They include an entity
called the al-Nusra Front, or Jabhat al-Nusra, a rebel group that
al-Zoubi says has used chemical weapons.
"We have proof," he said of al-Nusra's chemical weapons use.
The United States has
designated the front as a terrorist group. But al-Zoubi finds it
hypocritical that while the United States talks about fighting
terrorism, "in reality it doesn't seem to be doing so." That's because,
he said, Washington is more intent on accusing the Syrian government
than on seeking the truth.
"America is not serious about discussing this type of chemical weapons use," al-Zoubi said. "It is shameful."
The United States says it is sending the opposition nonlethal material, not arms. But al-Zoubi has a different take on that.
"There seems to be a
question as to the position of the United States toward Jabhat al-Nusra
and al Qaeda. America talks about fighting terrorism, but in reality it
doesn't seem to be doing so. How can you fight terrorism and count
Jabhat al-Nusra as a terrorist organization and at the same time send
weapons to these terrorists?"
He maintained that the government is "very sure" that chemical weapons in Syria were brought there from Turkey.
He said that he's not an
expert on what chemical weapons are being used but that such a question
should be asked of the leaders of Turkey and Qatar, because they are
sending weapons to al-Nusra and al Qaeda. He said pressure on the Assad
regime has been an obstacle to a fair U.N. investigation of the use of
chemical weapons.
"If the United States
wants to prove anything, they need to show the evidence to us. We are
very sure that these weapons have come to Syria from Turkey. This is not
a political accusation. This is based on facts. And Jabhat al-Nusra has
said that this is true. There are videos that make this clear,"
al-Zoubi said.
A Turkish diplomatic
source "firmly denied" Syria's "baseless allegations" about chemical
weapons and said its comments "cannot be taken seriously" because the
regime is obstructing a U.N. fact-finding mission on the issue.
Al-Zoubi says he wonders why Western nations are giving such weapons to al Qaeda and the al Nusra Front.
"Do they want to
increase terrorism, or do they want to find a pretext to invade Syria?
If they are trying to make them stronger, it means that the Western
countries are on the same side as the terrorists," he said. "It is very
clear that the United States, France and Turkey have a one-sided way of
looking at this."
CNN's Barbara Starr, Joe Sterling, Greg Botelho, Salma Abdelaziz and Gul Tuysuz contributed to this report from Atlanta.
end quote from:
www.cnn.com/2013/05/02/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html
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