|
(Continued from page 28)
US options on aiding Syrian rebels are limited despite report on use of chemical weapons
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House disclosure that the Syrian government has twice used chemical weapons still leaves the Obama administration stuck with a limited choice of military options to help the rebels oust President Bashar Assad.
• Arming the rebels runs smack into the reality that a military group fighting alongside them has pledged allegiance to al-Qaida. Establishing a no-fly zone poses a significant challenge as Syria possesses an air defense system far more robust than what the U.S. and its allies overwhelmed in Libya two years ago.
• President Barack Obama had declared that the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons in the two-year civil war would be "game changer" that would cross a "red line" for a major military response, but the White House made clear Thursday that even a quick strike wasn't imminent.
• Reflecting a strong degree of caution, the White House said the intelligence community assessed "with varying degrees of confidence" that the Syrian regime had used chemical weapons on a small scale. The White House said in a letter to two senators that the "chain of custody" was unclear and that the determination was based on physiological samples.
• The information had been known to the administration and some members of Congress for weeks despite public pronouncements from the White House. The revelation on Thursday strengthened proponents of aggressive military action, who challenged the administration to act and warned that going wobbly would embolden Assad.
• ___
Death toll from collapsed Bangladesh building hits 290
• SAVAR, Bangladesh (AP) -- Crews bored deeper Friday into the wreckage of a garment-factory building that collapsed two days earlier, hoping for miracle rescues that would prevent the staggering death toll from rising much higher, as angry relatives of the missing clashed with police.
• Some of those trapped under fallen concrete in the Rana Plaza building were still alive, rescue workers said, but they were so badly hurt and weakened that they will need to be extricated within a few hours if they are to survive.
• Rescue workers had to cut off Mussamat Anna's mangled right hand to pull the (Continued on page 31)
|
|
