Kerry: Syria has chemical weapons and used them

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Kerry: Syria has chemical weapons and used them

(CNTV) 11:08, September 01, 2013

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BEIJING, Aug. 31 -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has laid out evidence on last week’s alleged chemical weapons attack near Damascus. He says an intelligence report on the August the 21st attack shows the Syrian government was behind it.

John Kerry says the U.S. has intelligence the Syrian government carefully prepared for days to launch the chemical weapons attack. He says Syrian government personnel were on the ground for three days beforehand, making preparations. He also gives more details about the death toll.

Kerry said the U.S. is considering its response, which may still be a military one.

The White House released the four-page unclassified intelligence assessment on Friday. It says intelligence gathered included an intercepted communication involving a senior official intimately familiar with the attack as well as other human, signals and satellite intelligence. The White House says the classified assessments have been shared with the Congress and key international partners.

The U.S. administration also published online an unclassified summary of the U.S. Intelligence Community’s analysis of the chemical weapons attack. It includes accounts from international and Syrian medical personnel, videos, witness accounts, thousands of social media reports from at least 12 different locations in the Damascus area, journalist accounts, and reports from highly credible non-governmental organizations.

It also says the Syrian government maintains a stockpile of numerous chemical agents, including mustard gas, sarin, and VX, and has thousands of munitions that can be used to deliver chemical warfare agents.

（Editor：DuMingming、Liang Jun）