Israel Deputy FM: World Must Gear Up to Act on Syria Chemical Arms
The international community must be ready to use military action in response to any chemical weapons use by the Syrian regime, Israel's deputy foreign minister said on Friday.
"From the moment the international community understands that red lines have been crossed and that chemical weapons have been used, they will realize there's no other choice than to react (militarily)," Zeev Elkin told Israeli army radio.
"It's clear that if the U.S. and the international community wish to, they can react militarily and take control of Syria's chemical weapons arsenal," Elkin added.
"This will put an end to all concerns," he said.
The U.S. said Thursday for the first time that Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime had likely used chemical weapons against rebel forces, but stressed that intelligence services were not yet 100 per cent sure.
"Our intelligence community does assess with varying degrees of confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria," U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said.
A senior U.S. administration official said "all options are on the table" if it is confirmed that Syria has used chemical weapons.
The official recalled that the United States is already engaged in "diplomatic initiatives (and) assistance to the opposition" in Syria, where the U.N. says a grinding civil war has killed more than 70,000 since March 2011.
Last month, during a visit to Israel, U.S. President Barack Obama said the use of chemical weapons would be a "game changer."
Mounting evidence of chemical weapons attacks on fighters battling Assad's regime could increase the pressure on Obama -- who has sought to avoid any U.S. military role in the conflict -- to intervene.
The Pentagon has already sent more than 200 troops to Jordan to prepare for a possible joint operation with allies to secure chemical weapons.
Source: Agence France Presse
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