Kerry Says The Administration Has Evidence Assad Used Sarin on Syrians
Defending President Obama's push to strike Syria in response to the government's alleged use of chemical weapons, Secretary of State John Kerry appeared on five television programs this morning to explain Obama's shocking, and “courageous decision” to seek congressional approval for an act of war.
“I think the president realized in consultations with Congress that people wanted to weigh in,” Kerry said on CBS this morning. "And he believed, after thinking about it, that the United States of America is much stronger when we act in concert.”
Kerry also claimed that the administration has concrete evidence that the Assad regime used chemical weapons during the August 21st attack that killed 1,400 people. Kerry said that the hair and blood of first responders in East Damascus “have tested positive for signatures of sarin," a powerful neurotoxin. This is the first confirmation of a specific agent being used, however, like much of the administration's evidence, these test results have yet to be released to either Congress or the public.
Kerry referred to the evidence as "overwhelming" on CNN this morning, however U.N. officials, as well as member of the U.S. Congress continue to push for further proof of a chemical attack. A U.N. report on the possible use of chemical weapons could come as early as Monday.
"The U.N. mission is uniquely capable of establishing in an impartial and credible manner the facts of any use of chemical weapons," said a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
"We know that the regime ordered this attack, we know they prepared for it," Kerry said on CNN this morning. "We know where the rockets came from. We know where they landed. We know the damage that was done afterwards. We've seen the horrific scenes all over the social media, and we have evidence of it in other ways, and we know that the regime tried to cover up afterwards, so the case is really an overwhelming case."
Congress will wait to vote on military action until after the end of their summer recess on September 9th, until then however, the administration believes it has provided enough physical evidence (none of which has been presented to the public) to make a case for a strike.