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| Kerry Accuses Syria of Chemical Weapons Attack | Kerry Accuses Syria of Chemical Weapons Attack |
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| WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that the use of chemical weapons in attacks on civilians in Syria last week was undeniable and that the Obama administration would hold the Syrian government accountable for a “moral obscenity” that had shocked the world’s conscience. | WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that the use of chemical weapons in attacks on civilians in Syria last week was undeniable and that the Obama administration would hold the Syrian government accountable for a “moral obscenity” that had shocked the world’s conscience. |
| In some of the administration’s most strident language, Mr. Kerry accused the Syrian government of cynically seeking to cover up the use of the weapons, and he rejected its denial of responsibility for a “cowardly crime.” | In some of the administration’s most strident language, Mr. Kerry accused the Syrian government of cynically seeking to cover up the use of the weapons, and he rejected its denial of responsibility for a “cowardly crime.” |
| Mr. Kerry’s remarks, in a prepared statement he read at the State Department, reinforced the administration’s toughening stance on the Syria conflict, which is now well into its third year, and he suggested that the White House, in consultation with Congress and America’s allies, was moving closer to a military response. Mr. Kerry said President Obama “will be making an informed decision about how to respond to this indiscriminate use of chemical weapons.” | Mr. Kerry’s remarks, in a prepared statement he read at the State Department, reinforced the administration’s toughening stance on the Syria conflict, which is now well into its third year, and he suggested that the White House, in consultation with Congress and America’s allies, was moving closer to a military response. Mr. Kerry said President Obama “will be making an informed decision about how to respond to this indiscriminate use of chemical weapons.” |
| Other signs of Western momentum toward a possible military response also took shape on Monday. Britain’s prime minister, David Cameron, cut short a holiday to deal with Syria; the foreign ministers of Britain and Turkey suggested that bypassing the United Nations Security Council was an option, and France’s foreign minister said doing nothing was unacceptable. News media in Cyprus, where Britain maintains a military air base that is less than 100 miles from Syria’s coast, reported stepped-up flight activity there in recent days, although that may not have been unusual. | |
| Mr. Kerry’s statement appeared to brush aside warnings by President Bashar al-Assad of Syria and his most important foreign backer, Russia, against any Western military action. | Mr. Kerry’s statement appeared to brush aside warnings by President Bashar al-Assad of Syria and his most important foreign backer, Russia, against any Western military action. |
| “The indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity,” Mr. Kerry said. “By any standard, it is inexcusable. And despite the excuses and equivocations that some have manufactured, it is undeniable.” | “The indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity,” Mr. Kerry said. “By any standard, it is inexcusable. And despite the excuses and equivocations that some have manufactured, it is undeniable.” |
| Mr. Kerry also said the Syrian government’s refusal to allow immediate access to the attack sites last Wednesday, followed by the continued shelling of those areas, were telling indicators that it was trying to hide responsibility. Even though the Syrian government permitted a United Nations team of investigators, who had been in the country, to investigate starting Monday, he said, the government’s authorization was “too late” to be credible. | Mr. Kerry also said the Syrian government’s refusal to allow immediate access to the attack sites last Wednesday, followed by the continued shelling of those areas, were telling indicators that it was trying to hide responsibility. Even though the Syrian government permitted a United Nations team of investigators, who had been in the country, to investigate starting Monday, he said, the government’s authorization was “too late” to be credible. |
| “Our sense of basic humanity is offended not only by this cowardly crime but also by the cynical attempt to cover it up,” Mr. Kerry said. | “Our sense of basic humanity is offended not only by this cowardly crime but also by the cynical attempt to cover it up,” Mr. Kerry said. |
| The secretary of state spoke hours after the United Nations inspectors saw one attack site, despite shooting from unidentified snipers that disabled their convoy’s lead vehicle. The inspectors still managed to visit two hospitals, interview witnesses and doctors and collect patient samples for the first time since the attack last week that claimed hundreds of lives. | The secretary of state spoke hours after the United Nations inspectors saw one attack site, despite shooting from unidentified snipers that disabled their convoy’s lead vehicle. The inspectors still managed to visit two hospitals, interview witnesses and doctors and collect patient samples for the first time since the attack last week that claimed hundreds of lives. |
| UNited Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement after the assault that he had instructed his top disarmament official, Angela Kane, who was visiting Damascus, to register a “strong complaint to the Syrian government and authorities of opposition forces” to ensure the safety of the inspectors. There was no indication that any inspection team member had been hurt. | UNited Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement after the assault that he had instructed his top disarmament official, Angela Kane, who was visiting Damascus, to register a “strong complaint to the Syrian government and authorities of opposition forces” to ensure the safety of the inspectors. There was no indication that any inspection team member had been hurt. |
| Mr. Ban’s spokesman, Farhan Haq, told reporters at a regular daily briefing at United Nations headquarters in New York that the assailants, who had not been identified, fired on the first vehicle in the convoy, which was “hit in its tires and its front window.” | Mr. Ban’s spokesman, Farhan Haq, told reporters at a regular daily briefing at United Nations headquarters in New York that the assailants, who had not been identified, fired on the first vehicle in the convoy, which was “hit in its tires and its front window.” |
| “Ultimately it was not able to travel further,” Mr. Haq said. | “Ultimately it was not able to travel further,” Mr. Haq said. |
| Antigovernment activists posted videos online of United Nations inspectors in blue helmets arriving in the Moadamiya area, southwest of the capital, where they were shown entering a clinic and interviewing patients. | Antigovernment activists posted videos online of United Nations inspectors in blue helmets arriving in the Moadamiya area, southwest of the capital, where they were shown entering a clinic and interviewing patients. |
| Moadamiya is a rebel-held suburb where antigovernment activists reported the smaller of two suspected chemical attacks last Wednesday. Videos posted then showed patients in a rebel field hospital apparently having trouble breathing. | Moadamiya is a rebel-held suburb where antigovernment activists reported the smaller of two suspected chemical attacks last Wednesday. Videos posted then showed patients in a rebel field hospital apparently having trouble breathing. |
| The visit by the United Nations inspectors to the Damascus suburb, in a half-dozen vehicles escorted by Syrian security forces, came shortly after President Assad denied accusations that his forces had used chemical weapons against his own citizens. | The visit by the United Nations inspectors to the Damascus suburb, in a half-dozen vehicles escorted by Syrian security forces, came shortly after President Assad denied accusations that his forces had used chemical weapons against his own citizens. |
| In an interview with the Russian newspaper Izvestia, published on Monday, Mr. Assad said such accusations were illogical and an “outrage against common sense.” He warned the United States that military intervention in Syria would bring “failure just like in all the previous wars they waged, starting with Vietnam and up to the present day.” | In an interview with the Russian newspaper Izvestia, published on Monday, Mr. Assad said such accusations were illogical and an “outrage against common sense.” He warned the United States that military intervention in Syria would bring “failure just like in all the previous wars they waged, starting with Vietnam and up to the present day.” |
| Mr. Assad’s choice of a Russian newspaper to air his views seemed to reflect Moscow’s strong support for the Syrian leader after last week’s attacks. | Mr. Assad’s choice of a Russian newspaper to air his views seemed to reflect Moscow’s strong support for the Syrian leader after last week’s attacks. |
| On Sunday, a spokesman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, Aleksandr K. Lukashevich, said that those who advocated an armed response to any chemical weapons attack — without citing the United States or other countries — were prejudging the results of the United Nations inspections. | On Sunday, a spokesman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, Aleksandr K. Lukashevich, said that those who advocated an armed response to any chemical weapons attack — without citing the United States or other countries — were prejudging the results of the United Nations inspections. |
| “In these conditions, we again resolutely call on all those who are trying to impose the results of the U.N. investigations and who say that armed actions against Syria is possible to show common sense and avoid tragic mistakes,” Mr. Lukashevich said in a statement released on the ministry’s Web site. | “In these conditions, we again resolutely call on all those who are trying to impose the results of the U.N. investigations and who say that armed actions against Syria is possible to show common sense and avoid tragic mistakes,” Mr. Lukashevich said in a statement released on the ministry’s Web site. |
| In an interview Monday with Europe 1, a French radio station, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius of France, said “all options” were still open in crafting an international response, but “the only option I do not envisage is to do nothing.” France has been a close ally of the rebels seeking Mr. Assad’s ouster in the country’s civil war. | In an interview Monday with Europe 1, a French radio station, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius of France, said “all options” were still open in crafting an international response, but “the only option I do not envisage is to do nothing.” France has been a close ally of the rebels seeking Mr. Assad’s ouster in the country’s civil war. |
| Mr. Fabius said there was no doubt that chemical weapons had been used and outside powers would negotiate a “proportionate response” in the “days to come.” | Mr. Fabius said there was no doubt that chemical weapons had been used and outside powers would negotiate a “proportionate response” in the “days to come.” |
| In the welter of diplomatic maneuvering, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the Milliyet newspaper it would join an international coalition against Mr. Assad if the United Nations Security Council could not reach a consensus. Turkey is a strong supporter of the rebels, | In the welter of diplomatic maneuvering, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the Milliyet newspaper it would join an international coalition against Mr. Assad if the United Nations Security Council could not reach a consensus. Turkey is a strong supporter of the rebels, |
| In London, William Hague, the British foreign secretary, took a similar approach to an international response. “Is it possible to respond to chemical weapons without complete unity on the U.N. Security Council?” he told the BBC in a radio interview. “I would argue yes it is, otherwise it might be impossible to respond to such outrages, such crimes, and I don’t think that’s an acceptable situation.” | In London, William Hague, the British foreign secretary, took a similar approach to an international response. “Is it possible to respond to chemical weapons without complete unity on the U.N. Security Council?” he told the BBC in a radio interview. “I would argue yes it is, otherwise it might be impossible to respond to such outrages, such crimes, and I don’t think that’s an acceptable situation.” |
| Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, warned against prejudgment about the use of chemical weapons, saying that the United States and other countries had already mistakenly drawn conclusions by raising the specter of punitive military strikes. As Russia has asserted previously, Mr. Lavrov suggested that the attacks had been orchestrated by the rebels or other nongovernmental forces, saying it was illogical that the Syrian government would have launched an attack that would prompt an international response. | Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, warned against prejudgment about the use of chemical weapons, saying that the United States and other countries had already mistakenly drawn conclusions by raising the specter of punitive military strikes. As Russia has asserted previously, Mr. Lavrov suggested that the attacks had been orchestrated by the rebels or other nongovernmental forces, saying it was illogical that the Syrian government would have launched an attack that would prompt an international response. |
| Mr. Lavrov warned that any Western intervention would be a “serious mistake,” evoking the experiences of interventions in Iraq and Libya in particular. | Mr. Lavrov warned that any Western intervention would be a “serious mistake,” evoking the experiences of interventions in Iraq and Libya in particular. |
| “If someone thinks that, having bombed the Syrian military infrastructure and having left the battlefield such that the enemies of the regime will seize victory, that all this will end, it’s an illusion,” Mr. Lavrov told reporters at the Foreign Ministry in Moscow. “Even if such a victory is achieved, the civil war will continue. “ | “If someone thinks that, having bombed the Syrian military infrastructure and having left the battlefield such that the enemies of the regime will seize victory, that all this will end, it’s an illusion,” Mr. Lavrov told reporters at the Foreign Ministry in Moscow. “Even if such a victory is achieved, the civil war will continue. “ |
| He said that bypassing the United Nations Security Council to move militarily against the Syrian government would be “the grossest violation of international law” that would “sharply worsen the situation.” | He said that bypassing the United Nations Security Council to move militarily against the Syrian government would be “the grossest violation of international law” that would “sharply worsen the situation.” |
| In the interview with Izvestia, Mr. Assad said, “America has taken part in many wars but could not once achieve its political goals for which the wars were started. Yes, it is true, the great powers can wage wars but can they win them?” | In the interview with Izvestia, Mr. Assad said, “America has taken part in many wars but could not once achieve its political goals for which the wars were started. Yes, it is true, the great powers can wage wars but can they win them?” |
| He said government troops would have risked killing their own forces if they had used chemical weapons. “This contradicts elementary logic,” news reports quoted him as saying. It is “not us but our enemies who are using chemical weapons,” he said, referring, as he usually does, to antigovernment rebels as “the terrorists.” | He said government troops would have risked killing their own forces if they had used chemical weapons. “This contradicts elementary logic,” news reports quoted him as saying. It is “not us but our enemies who are using chemical weapons,” he said, referring, as he usually does, to antigovernment rebels as “the terrorists.” |
| In Israel, a senior government official said Monday it was “crystal clear” that Mr. Assad’s forces used chemical weapons last week and called the United Nations investigation effort a “joke.” The official said that Iran, a close ally of the Syrian leader, should also be held responsible. | In Israel, a senior government official said Monday it was “crystal clear” that Mr. Assad’s forces used chemical weapons last week and called the United Nations investigation effort a “joke.” The official said that Iran, a close ally of the Syrian leader, should also be held responsible. |
| “The world cannot allow this to proceed,” Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s minister of international affairs, strategy and intelligence, told international reporters at a briefing Monday morning in Jerusalem. “The Iranians are already trying to isolate themselves from the use of chemical weapons. This is a kind of hypocrisy. You cannot be part of this terrible, brutal war and say, ‘Yeah, I participate in the war but I isolate myself, I separate myself from the use of chemical weapons.’ Assad today is almost a total proxy to Iran.” | “The world cannot allow this to proceed,” Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s minister of international affairs, strategy and intelligence, told international reporters at a briefing Monday morning in Jerusalem. “The Iranians are already trying to isolate themselves from the use of chemical weapons. This is a kind of hypocrisy. You cannot be part of this terrible, brutal war and say, ‘Yeah, I participate in the war but I isolate myself, I separate myself from the use of chemical weapons.’ Assad today is almost a total proxy to Iran.” |
| Echoing other Israeli leaders, Mr. Steinitz suggested that the Syria situation was a kind of harbinger regarding Iran’s disputed nuclear program. “If Iran would get nuclear weapons, it’s going to create a new, very dangerous new world, this is a global game-changer,” he said. | Echoing other Israeli leaders, Mr. Steinitz suggested that the Syria situation was a kind of harbinger regarding Iran’s disputed nuclear program. “If Iran would get nuclear weapons, it’s going to create a new, very dangerous new world, this is a global game-changer,” he said. |
Michael R. Gordon reported from Washington, Alan Cowell from London and Rick Gladstone from New York. Reporting was contributed by Andrew Roth and Noah Sneider from Moscow, Ben Hubbard from Beirut, Lebanon, | Michael R. Gordon reported from Washington, Alan Cowell from London and Rick Gladstone from New York. Reporting was contributed by Andrew Roth and Noah Sneider from Moscow, Ben Hubbard from Beirut, Lebanon, Jodi Rudoren from Jerusalem and Sebnem Arsu from Istanbul. |