Obama ready to go it alone on Syria

Obama ready to go it alone on Syria

The White House signaled Thursday that President Barack Obama is ready to go it alone to strike Syria despite the British parliament’s rejection of military action and the lack of a UN mandate. Aides said Obama believes that Syria must pay a price for breaking taboos on the use of chemical weapons, action which he sees as posing a grave threat to US national security. US plans to build an international coalition for a “limited” strike on Syria suffered a devastating blow when the House of Commons in London voted against the use of force to punish a chemical weapons attack last week outside Damascus. US officials signaled earlier Thursday that Obama would take unilateral action if necessary, but the possibility became a reality with the vote, which reverberated immediately across the Atlantic. “We have seen the result of the parliament vote in the UK tonight,” National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said.

Meanwhile, French President Francois Hollande gave a boost Friday to US plans to forge an international coalition for possible strikes against Syria after British lawmakers rejected any involvement in military action. The White House had signalled Thursday that President Barack Obama, guided by the “best interests” of the United States, was ready to go it alone on Syria after deadly chemical weapons attacks last week.

But Russia, the Syrian regime’s most powerful ally, questioned US intelligence on the gas attacks and warned any military strikes without UN backing would deal a serious blow to “world order”. In Damascus, UN experts began a final day of investigations into the attacks, visiting an army hospital where victims were reportedly being treated.

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said despite the British vote, the White House was still seeking an “international coalition that will act together” against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. —AFP