Following last weeks alleged chemical weapons strike, U.N. experts entered Syria to investigate further. Experts left Syria for neighboring Lebanon early this morning, just hours after President Barack Obama said he was considering “limited and narrow” action against the Syrian regime believed to have been behind the attack.
The Huffington Post reports:
“An Associated Press crew saw the U.N. personnel enter Lebanon from Syria through the Masnaa border crossing and then drive in a 13-car convoy to the Beirut airport. After four days of on-site inspections, the team wrapped up its investigation Friday into the suspected chemical attack on rebel-held suburbs of Damascus on Aug. 21.
The experts take with them blood and urine samples from victims as well as soil samples from the affected areas for examination in laboratories in Europe. The United Nations has said it will try to expedite its final report, and U.N. disarmament chief Angela Kane is to brief Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon later Saturday on the investigation.”
Now that investigators have left Syria, the threat of confrontation between the United States and President Bashar Assad’s regime weighs heavier than ever. Most thought military action from the U.S. was unlikely while the U.N. team was still on Syrian soil, but the threat is there. American administration remains unwavering in their stance that they are confident in their assessment of the situation and could act before the U.N. releases their findings.
Obama has made it clear that if he decides to take military action, any operations would be limited in scope and aimed only at punishing Assad for his use of chemical weapons.
The problem, according to the Huffington Post is that any action by the U.S. could bring about retaliation from Syria against us or our allies.
“That would inject a dangerous new dynamic into a Syrian civil war that has already killed more than 100,00 people, forced nearly 2 million to flee the country and inflamed secratarian tensions across the Middle East.
While Obama has long been wary of U.S. military involvement in the conflict, the administration on Friday forcefully made its case for action against Syria in the wake of last week’s events outside Damascus. It accused the Assad regime of carrying out what it says was a chemical attack on Aug. 21 that killed at least 1,429 people – far more than previous estimates – including more than 400 children.”
With very few public ally’s, Obama told reporters he has a strong preference for “multilateral action.”
“Frankly, part of the challenge we end up with here is a lot of people think something should be done but nobody wants to do it,” he said.
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PHOTO CREDIT: Getty images.
SOURCE: The Huffington Post
