France backs US as Kerry blames Syria for gas attack
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The United States found itself with only one major partner — France — in its plans to strike Syria over its alleged use of chemical weapons, after its staunchest ally Britain had to beg off following a stunning rejection of military force by Parliament.
The collapse of support puts pressure on US President Barack Obama as resistance to the mission grows at home — and comes with the irony that Paris was the most vocal critic of the US-led invasion of Iraq.
French President Francois Hollande pledged his backing yesterday for Obama’s plans to hit the Damascus government.
“The chemical massacre of Damascus cannot and must not remain unpunished,” Hollande said in an interview with the newspaper Le Monde yesterday, as UN experts in Damascus finished gathering samples and evidence related to the alleged attack. The UN team will leave Syria today.
Hollande suggested that action could even come ahead of next Wednesday’s extraordinary session of the French Parliament, called to discuss the Syria situation. Lawmakers’ approval is not needed for Hollande to order military action.
Amid the turmoil of a British ‘no’ and mounting American skepticism, Obama appeared undeterred in his determination to punish Syrian leader Bashar Assad, and advisers said he would be willing to retaliate against Syria on his own.
Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday the US knows, based on intelligence, that the Syrian regime carefully prepared for days to launch the chemical weapons attack.
A US chemical weapons assessment says 1,429 people were killed in the attack, including at least 426 children
Kerry said Syrian regime personnel were at the site of the attack for three days beforehand, making preparations. He said regime elements were told to prepare by putting on gas masks.
Kerry said the US also knows where the rockets were launched from, adding they came from regime-controlled areas.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that military strikes would lead to long-term destabilization of Syria and the region. He has spoken against any use of force without UN Security Council approval, which he said would be a “crude violation of international law.”
The British parliament late on Thursday voted against military action in Syria, whittling down the core of the planned coalition to the United States and France. Italy and Germany have said they won’t take part in any military action.
A spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday that there’s been no request for a military commitment by his country and the government is not planning any.
Hollande said that France is among the few nations capable of “inflicting a sanction by the appropriate means” and “it is ready.” But a decision will be made in close coordination with allies, he added.
France has historic ties to Syria, having once ruled the country; it also has warplanes and strategic interest in the region. Paris has embraced the Syrian opposition and urged a firm response against Assad over the chemical attack.
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