Post date: Aug 27, 2013 7:33:59 PM
White House rules out 'regime change' among options for Syria, but says there is no doubt that the regime used chemical weapons.
WASHINGTON D.C. UNITED STATES (AUGUST 27, 2013) (NBC) - The White House ruled out any military effort to oust Syrian PresidentBashar al-Assad from power on Tuesday (August 27) as U.S. President Barack Obama ponders options in response to last week's chemical weapons attack inSyria.
"The options that we are considering are not about regime change," said White House spokesman Jay Carney. "They are about responding to a clear violation of an international standard that prohibits the use of chemical weapons. It is our firm conviction that Syria's future cannot include Assad in power. But this deliberation and the actions we are contemplating are not about regime change."Obama is considering cruise missile strikes against Syrian targets in response to the August 21 chemical weapons attack that U.S. officials are increasingly confident was launched by the Syrian government.
Carney said the United States expects to release in coming days a public version of a formal report by the U.S. intelligence community on the use of chemical weapons. The report is expected to conclude the Syrian government was responsible for the attack. Carney said there was no doubt who was behind it.
"It is undeniable that chemical weapons were used on a large scale, we know that the regime maintains custody of the chemical weapons in Syria and uses the types of rockets that were used to deliver chemical weapons on August 21st, the opposition does not," Carney said. "We also know that the opposition does not have the capabilities that the Syrian regime has. And, as I mentioned earlier, we have already had an assessment by the intelligence community with a high degree of confidence that the Syrian regime has used on a small scale chemical weapons already, so suggestions that there is any doubt about who is responsible for this are as preposterous as suggestion that the attack itself didn't occur."
Obama has already ruled out putting U.S. troops on the ground in Syria.
The United States wants Assad to leave power, but as part of a negotiated political settlement with the Syrian rebels.
Carney said the United States has a variety of options from which to use, not just military options. Most of the talk about Syria in recent days, however, has been about a limited cruise missile attack.
Carney reiterated that Obama had not made a decision on how the United Stateswill respond to what it believes was an attack on civilians by the Syrian government.