Post by jeffolie on Aug 28, 2013 18:13:52 GMT -6
Britain to Wait on Weapons Report Ahead of Syria Strikes
" ... Britain signaled it would first await the findings of a United Nations inquiry into the suspected use of chemical weapons in a mass killing near Damascus, and would then hold a separate parliamentary vote, which could be days away.
Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, who runs a coalition government, is facing political difficulties from legislators mindful of the experience in Iraq, when assurances from Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George W. Bush that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction proved inaccurate and a false pretext for war. Mr. Cameron bowed on Wednesday to pressure from the opposition Labour Party and some within his own coalition who want to allow United Nations weapons inspectors a chance to report their findings and for the United Nations Security Council to make one more effort to give a more solid legal backing to military action against Damascus.
As Mr. Cameron ran into difficulties, the Syrian government, which has denied accusations by a range of Western and Arab countries that it had used the weapons in the Aug. 21 mass killing, moved abruptly to prolong the visit of the United Nations inspectors, announcing it had evidence of three previously unreported chemical weapons assaults that they should investigate, and which the government said had been carried out by insurgents. If the investigators look into those accusations, they could remain in Syria well past this weekend, beyond their original mandate.
The developments had the effect of slowing the momentum led by the United States and Britain for military intervention in the Syria conflict, which began more than two years ago as a popular uprising against President Bashar al-Assad and has since morphed into a civil war that has left more than 100,000 people dead and destabilized the Middle East.
more ...
www.nytimes.com/2013/08/29/world/middleeast/syria.html
" ... Britain signaled it would first await the findings of a United Nations inquiry into the suspected use of chemical weapons in a mass killing near Damascus, and would then hold a separate parliamentary vote, which could be days away.
Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, who runs a coalition government, is facing political difficulties from legislators mindful of the experience in Iraq, when assurances from Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George W. Bush that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction proved inaccurate and a false pretext for war. Mr. Cameron bowed on Wednesday to pressure from the opposition Labour Party and some within his own coalition who want to allow United Nations weapons inspectors a chance to report their findings and for the United Nations Security Council to make one more effort to give a more solid legal backing to military action against Damascus.
As Mr. Cameron ran into difficulties, the Syrian government, which has denied accusations by a range of Western and Arab countries that it had used the weapons in the Aug. 21 mass killing, moved abruptly to prolong the visit of the United Nations inspectors, announcing it had evidence of three previously unreported chemical weapons assaults that they should investigate, and which the government said had been carried out by insurgents. If the investigators look into those accusations, they could remain in Syria well past this weekend, beyond their original mandate.
The developments had the effect of slowing the momentum led by the United States and Britain for military intervention in the Syria conflict, which began more than two years ago as a popular uprising against President Bashar al-Assad and has since morphed into a civil war that has left more than 100,000 people dead and destabilized the Middle East.
more ...
www.nytimes.com/2013/08/29/world/middleeast/syria.html