The Obama administration said Wednesday it would take action against the Syrian government even without the backing of allies or the United Nations because diplomatic paralysis must not prevent a response to the alleged chemical weapons attack outside the Syrian capital last week.
New requests for the United Nations to authorize military action in Syria may have complicated the Obama administration's plan to take retaliatory action on the purported poison gas attack east of Damascus that U.S. officials claim was carried out by President Bashar Assad's forces.
Syria, which sits on one of the world's largest stockpiles of chemical weapons, has denied the charges. Moreover, Syria's U.N. ambassador, Bashar Ja'afari, is demanding that United Nations experts investigate three alleged chemical weapons attacks against Syrian soldiers.
He said the attacks occurred on Aug. 22, 24 and 25 in three suburbs of the Syrian capital and dozens of soldiers are being treated for inhaling nerve gas.
The CIA and the Pentagon have been working to gather more human intelligence tying Assad to the attack, relying on the intelligence services of Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Israel, the officials said.
Both the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency have their own human sources - the rebel commanders and others who cross the border to brief CIA and defense intelligence officers at training camps in Jordan and Turkey.
But their operation is much smaller than some of the other intelligence services, and it takes longer for their contacts to make their way overland.
【新闻快讯】
美国总统奥巴马在23日播出的电视专访中说，叙利亚内战已牵涉到美国核心国家利益，他将尽快就叙利亚问题作出决定。与此同时，美国媒体报道，美国防部、国务院和情报部门已就对叙采取紧急措施展开计划。他表示，军事干涉叙利亚内战必须慎重，如果没有联合国授权，美国攻击另一个国家将面临国际法方面的障碍。
据悉，叙反对派指责政府军21日使用含有沙林毒气的火箭弹袭击首都大马士革姑塔东区，造成众多人员死亡。而叙利亚政府军则指责该事件系反对派所为。
一名五角大楼高官说，美军舰可在数小时内发动对叙利亚的攻击。奥巴马政府官员说，白宫已排除依伊拉克模式直接出兵和依利比亚模式设定限飞区的打算，发动导弹袭击成为最可能选项。
叙利亚外长穆阿利姆27日召开新闻发布会，称不相信包括美国在内的西方国家会对叙利亚实施军事打击。
穆阿利姆说，美国政府可能只是通过散布即将实施军事打击的言论来对叙利亚政府施压，从而获取叙方更大的让步。他同时指出，尽管不认为西方会实施军事打击，但叙利亚已做好尽全力保卫国家的准备。
标签：开战,袭击,导弹
