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U.S. Confirms 'Small Amount' Of Chemical Weapons Used In Syria

U.S. Confirms Chemical Weapon Use In Syria
Agence France Presse
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WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 13: Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman testifies on Capitol Hill October 13, 2011 in Washington, DC. The Senate held a hearing to discuss the possibility of further economic sanctions on Iran in light of the recently revealed plot to assassinate a Saudi diplomat in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)

Small amounts of chemical weapons have been used at least twice in Syria, but Washington is seeking more information as it mulls its response, a top US official said Wednesday.

"The intelligence community has agreed with varying levels of confidence that chemical weapons were used in small amounts in at least two instances in Syria," Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told US lawmakers.

"But having high confidence up in the intelligence community, for which I have great admiration, is not in fact all that one needs to take some of the actions that many people have contemplated."

Sherman did not say which side was believed to have used the weapons in the bloody conflict in Syria now in its third year, in which rebels are seeking to oust President Bashar al-Assad.

But she told the House foreign affairs committee that US President Barack Obama -- who has said the use of chemical weapons would be a red line for the international community -- was right to proceed cautiously.

"We have unfortunate experience in our history, where we've taken action and it turned out that the intelligence assessment was either misinterpreted or not accurate," Sherman said.

"So I think he is being very thoughtful about how he is proceeding here."

Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday there was "strong evidence" that the Assad regime had used chemical weapons against rebel forces.

"This fight is about the terrible choices that the Assad regime has made with its willingness to kill anywhere... to use gas, which we believe there is strong evidence of use of," Kerry said in an online forum.

But top UN rights investigator Carla del Ponte said earlier this month that rebels may have been using the deadly nerve agent sarin.

US officials have stressed they do not believe the rebels have any such arms in their arsenal of weapons.

"Rest assured we are gathering additional data and making additional judgments," Sherman told the lawmakers in a hearing about Iran's suspect nuclear program. Iran is backing Assad as he fights to stay in power.

Copyright (2013) AFP. All rights reserved.

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Before You Go

A History Of Chemical Weapons
World War I(01 of05)
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Chlorine and phosgene gases were released on the battlefield. The first large scale attack with chlorine gas took place at Ieper in Belgium on April 22nd, 1915.Captions: In the defense of a Belgian Village near the French frontier Belgian infantrymen attempt to block the German advance in Belgium, during World War I. Undated photo. (AP Photo) (credit:AP)
World War I(02 of05)
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Ninety thousand people were killed and over a million injured as a result of the use of chemical weapons in the war.Caption: This is a 1918 photo of U.S. Marines responding to a gas attack near Verdun, France during World War I. (AP Photo) (credit:Getty)
1980s(03 of05)
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Iraq used chemical weapons against Iran in their 8-year war.Caption: Armed Iraqi on Khorramchahr's front. (Photo by Francoise De Mulder/Roger Viollet/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
1980's(04 of05)
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Iraq also used chemical weapons against Kurdish Iraqis in Halabja in 1988.Caption: This 1988 file photo shows victims, including a small child, of an Iraqi attack on Kurds in the town of Halabja, Iraq. In the deadliest chemical weapons attack against civilians, Saddam Hussein's regime unleashed poison gas in the northern Iraq town, killing up to 5,000 people. (AP Photo) (credit:AP)
2004(05 of05)
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U.S. military used white phosphorus in Fallujah, Iraq. Use of white phosphorus is not banned but its use is restricted under an international agreement the U.S. has never accepted.Caption: This December 2004 photo provided by Garrett Anderson shows U.S. Marines, from left, Nathaniel Coburn and Matthew Ranbarger during house clearing operations in Fallujah, Iraq. (AP Photo/Garrett Anderson) (credit:AP)
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