VOA. WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump says his administration will likely say “after the fact” how it decided to respond to a suspected chemical attack on the outskirts of Syria’s capital.
“It will be met, and it will be met forcefully,” Trump said before meeting with senior military leaders late Monday.
He highlighted what he said was the power of the United States to stop atrocities like the attack Saturday in rebel-held eastern Ghouta that killed at least 40 people.
“We have a lot of options, militarily,” he said, with out giving specifics. Last year, he ordered airstrikes on a Syrian airfield used to launch another chemical attack.
Trump was critical of former President Barack Obama for what he said was a failing strategy of publicizing planned military maneuvers ahead of time.
Syria has denied using chemical weapons throughout the conflict that began in 2011, including the most recent suspected chemical attack. Russia said there is no evidence Syria carried out such an attack.
Trump said Monday, “We are getting some very good clarity,” regarding who was responsible, a task that has been difficult throughout the Syrian war and the source of conflict among the many international players involved.
Earlier he told his Cabinet at a White House meeting that the U.S. would figure out who was responsible for the attack, whether it was Syria, Russia, Iran or “all of them together.”
Assigning responsibility was the domain of investigators from the Joint Investigative Mechanism between the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which was dissolved after Russia vetoed a renewal of its mandate in November. The United States put forward a new proposal Monday to Security Council members for a new attribution mechanism, but it was not immediately clear whether it would win the necessary Russian support.
U.N. diplomats said the United States was pushing for a vote on the resolution on Tuesday.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the council in a statement Tuesday to “redouble its efforts to agree upon a dedicated mechanism for accountability.”
He said he is outraged by continued reports of chemical weapon attacks in Syria and called for a thorough, impartial investigation with the OPCW given full access to do its work.
“The norms against chemical weapons must be upheld,” Guterres said.
U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley told the Security Council on Monday that both Russia and Iran could stop the Syrian government’s “murderous destruction,” adding that Moscow’s hands are “covered in the blood of Syrian children.”
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