I/II. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/09/us-syria-chemical-weapons-attack-john-kerry
John Kerry gives Syria week to hand over chemical weapons or face attack US secretary of state tells London press conference with William Hague that US intelligence blames Assad regime for gas attack - Patrick Wintour <http://www.theguardian.com/profile/patrickwintour> - theguardian.com <http://www.theguardian.com/>, Monday 9 September 2013 12.47 BST The US secretary of state has said that President Bashar al-Assad has one week to hand over his entire stock of chemical weapons to avoid a military attack. But John Kerry <http://www.theguardian.com/world/john-kerry> added that he had no expectation that the Syrian leader would comply. Kerry also said he had no doubt that Assad was responsible for the chemical weapons attack in east Damascus on 21 August, saying that only three people are responsible for the chemical weapons inside Syria<http://www.theguardian.com/world/syria>– Assad, one of his brothers and a senior general. He said the entire US intelligence community was united in believing Assad was responsible. Kerry was speaking on Monday alongside the UK foreign secretary,William Hague <http://www.theguardian.com/politics/williamhague>, who was forced to deny that he had been pushed to the sidelines by the House of Commons decision 10 days ago to reject the use of UK force in Syria. The US Senate is due to vote this week on whether to approve an attack and Kerry was ambivalent over whether Barack Obama would use his powers to ignore the legislative chamber, if it were to reject an attack. The US state department stressed that Kerry was making a rhetorical argument about the one-week deadline and unlikelihood of Assad turning over Syria's chemical weapons stockpile. In a statement, the department added: "His point was that this brutal dictator with a history of playing fast and loose with the facts cannot be trusted to turn over chemical weapons, otherwise he would have done so long ago. That's why the world faces this moment." Kerry said the US had tracked the Syrian chemical weapons stock for many years, adding that it "was controlled in a very tight manner by the Assad regime … Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher al-Assad, and a general are the three people that have the control over the movement and use of chemical weapons. "But under any circumstances, the Assad regime is the Assad regime, and the regime issues orders, and we have regime members giving these instructions and engaging in these preparations with results going directly to President Assad. "We are aware of that so we have no issue here about responsibility. They have a very threatening level of stocks remaining." Kerry said Assad might avoid an attack if he handed every bit of his chemical weapons stock, but added that the Syrian president was not going to do that. He warned that if other nations were not prepared to act on the issue of chemical weapons, "you are giving people complete licence to do whatever they want and to feel so they can do with impunity". Kerry said the Americans were planning an "unbelievably small" attack on Syria. "We will be able to hold Bashar al-Assad accountable without engaging in troops on the ground or any other prolonged kind of effort in a very limited, very targeted, short-term effort that degrades his capacity to deliver chemical weapons without assuming responsibility for Syria's civil war. That is exactly what we are talking about doing – unbelievably small, limited kind of effort." The secretary of state repeatedly referred to genocides in eastern Europe and Rwanda in putting forward his case for taking military action. "We need to hear an appropriate outcry as we think back on those moments of history when large numbers of people have been killed because the world was silent," he said. "The Holocaust, Rwanda, other moments, are lessons to all of us today. "So let me be clear," he continued. "The United States<http://www.theguardian.com/world/usa> of America, President Obama, myself, others are in full agreement that the end of the conflict in Syria requires a political solution." But he insisted such a solution was currently impossible if "one party believes that he can rub out countless numbers of his own citizens with impunity using chemicals that have been banned for 100 years". Hague was forced to emphasise that the UK was engaged in the Syrian crisis through its call for greater action on humanitarian aid, as well as support for the Geneva II peace process. He pointed out that David Cameron had convened a meeting of countries at the G20 summit in Saint Petersburg to ramp up the humanitarian effort. Hague met members of the Syrian opposition last Friday and described its leaders as democratic and non-sectarian. On Monday, he avoided questions on why he was not providing lethal equipment to the Syrian opposition. He said it was for the US to decide whether to attack Syria without congressional endorsement. "These are the two greatest homes of democracy and we work in slightly different ways and we each have to respect how each other's democracies work." Kerry said he did not know if Obama would release further intelligence proving the culpability of Assad in the chemical weapons attack, saying the administration had already released an unprecedented amount of information. II. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323595004579064600840673322.html - MIDDLE EAST NEWS - Updated September 9, 2013, 6:08 p.m. ET White House Wants 'Hard Look' at Syria Weapons OfferSkepticism as Syria Backs Russian Proposal to Hand Over Chemicals By - JAY SOLOMON <http://topics.wsj.com/person/A/biography/1533>, - JAMES MARSON and - NICHOLAS WINNING Syria said it welcomed a Russian proposal that it hand over chemical weapons to be destroyed, without saying whether it would comply, as opponents of a military strike against Syria leapt at the chance for another delay to possible U.S. attack. The White House said it would take a "hard look" at the proposal from the Russian government to get Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to turn over his chemical-weapons stockpiles but said it didn't have confidence that Mr. Assad would do so. "We would welcome a decision and action for Syria to give up its weapons," said Tony Blinken, President Barack Obama's deputy national security adviser. But Mr. Blinken said he had little hope that Mr. Assad would give his chemical weapons to the international community as he refused for years to even acknowledge he held such stockpiles. The Obama administration said it must continue to put pressure on the Assad regime. The statements on Monday came in a fast-developing diplomatic twist in the Syrian crisis, after Secretary of State John Kerry<http://topics.wsj.com/person/K/John-Kerry/7196>, asked in a London news conference whether there was anything Mr. Assad could do to stop U.S. strikes, said: "Sure, he could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week...without delay and allow the full and total accounting for that, but he isn't about to do it and it can't be done, obviously." Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of Russia, a country that is one of the strongest supporters of the Assad regime, quickly urged Syria to comply with Mr. Kerry's call, while United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon offered U.N. help in overseeing the destruction of chemical weapons within Syria. "We are calling on the Syrian leadership not just to agree to put chemical-weapons stores under international control, but also to their subsequent destruction, as well as fully fledged accession to the Chemical Weapons Convention," Mr. Lavrov said. Related Articles - *Obama Push to Hit Syria Takes Detour<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324549004579065524049187550.html> * - *White House Wants 'Hard Look' at Syria Weapons Offer<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323595004579064600840673322.html> * - *Discord Over Military Strike Imperils President's Agenda<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323864604579065452579154262.html> * - *Capital Journal: Obama's Syria Credibility Gap: Where's the Risk?<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323864604579064963818091016.html> * - *Obama Faces Tough Week<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324094704579062930548599924.html> * Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem gave a positive, if vague, response. "The Syrian Arab republic welcomes the Russian initiative, motivated by the concerns of the Russian leadership for the lives of our citizens and the security of our country," he said, according to Russia's Interfax news agency. Mr. Moallem didn't provide any details of what Damascus was willing to do and didn't address Russia's call for Syria to sign on to the global convention banning chemical weapons. He said Syria's position on the Russian proposal was motivated "out of our faith in the wisdom of the Russian leadership, which is striving to prevent American aggression against our people." With the likelihood and extent of Syrian cooperation uncertain, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said the international community must be wary in case Damascus uses such offers as a diversionary tactic. France, a supporter of action against the Assad regime, on Monday urged Syria to dispose of its chemical-weapons stockpile swiftly and under the auspices of international authorities. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Mr. Lavrov's proposal "merited precise scrutiny," but said destruction of stockpiles should come under a program mandated by the U.N. Security Council and activated "without delay." Mr. Fabius also said the International Criminal Court should prosecute anyone who was involved in ordering the chemical attacks on Aug. 21. White House press secretary Jay Carney said the proposal for Syria to turn over its chemical weapons arose because of Syria's fear of U.S. military strikes. "I think it's explicitly in reaction to the threat of retaliation," Mr. Carney said. The State Department, meanwhile, said that Mr. Kerry's comments didn't constitute a formal proposal, but were "rhetorical and hypothetical." The State Department and White House each said that U.S. officials would consider the Russian proposal resulting from Mr. Kerry's comment. But they said that they believed the Assad regime had "repeatedly lied" about Syrian intentions and were stalling. "We're going to take a hard look at it," said Marie Harf, State Department spokeswoman. U.S. officials said they didn't believe Mr. Assad would give up the chemical weapons stocks or submit to the international process of inspections and verifications that would be needed to find and eliminate them. Ms. Harf and other U.S. officials said the speed with which Damascus and Moscow responded shows the effect of American pressure and said it was more of a reason for congressional approval of a military force resolution to back U.S. plans to strike Syria. Mr. Ban, the U.N. secretary-general, said he was still waiting for the report by U.N. chemical-weapons inspectors who took samples from the site of the Aug. 21 incident in which the U.S. said the Syrian government deployed chemical weapons and killed more than 1,400 people. Related Video <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323595004579064600840673322.html#> In a week likely to define his presidency, President Barack Obama will try to surmount growing national hostility to his proposal for a U.S. military strike against Syria. Jerry Seib joins the News Hub. Photo: AP. Speaking after Mr. Kerry's comments on Monday, Mr. Ban, who has rejected calls for military action against Syria, said the U.N. was drawing up plans for Syria's chemical weapons to be moved to a secure location within the country where they could be eliminated under U.N. supervision. The U.N. secretary-general said there was "significant speculation" about the alleged attack on Aug. 21, but urged a coordinated response against whoever is found culpable. Should the U.N. inspectors "confirm the use of chemical weapons, then this would surely be something around which the Security Council could unite in response—and indeed something that should merit universal condemnation," Mr. Ban said. Russia, a permanent member, has so far blocked any push at the Security Council for a resolution against the Assad government. Russia has supported Mr. Assad in the country's civil war and has opposed U.S. plans for a strike against Mr. Assad's forces. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the chemical attack was carried out by the Syrian opposition to provoke international military intervention. President Barack Obama has mounted an intensive campaign to convince Congress and the American public<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324094704579062930548599924.html> that a military strike on Syria is necessary. Mr. Kerry, at the news conference in London on Monday, said the Assad regime has a "huge stock" of chemical weapons, and the movement and use of them was tightly controlled by Mr. Assad himself, his brother, and a general whom he didn't name. "We will be able to hold Bashar Assad accountable without engaging in troops on the ground or any other prolonged kind of effort in a very limited, very targeted, very short-term effort that degrades his capacity to deliver chemical weapons without assuming responsibility for Syria's civil war," he said. Russia's Mr. Lavrov, speaking in Moscow on Monday said—after talks with his Syrian counterpart—that military strikes on Syria could cause an "outburst of terrorism" in the region and trigger a new wave of refugees. Mr. Kerry said the risk of not acting in Syria was greater than the risk of acting. "I don't believe we can shy from this moment," he said. — Jared A. Favole, Joe Lauria, Stacy Meichtry and Lukas Alpert contributed to this article. *Write to *Jay Solomon at [email protected], James Marson at [email protected] and Nicholas Winning [email protected] -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
