President Barack Obama has vowed to seek the approval of the US congress for military action against Syria.
And he warned US forces are ready to act as early as today and he is “prepared to give that order”.
But he wants to put the plans to a vote when Congress returns before launching a punishment strike against Syria, he announced at a press conference in the White House rose garden.
He said: “After careful deliberation I have decided that the United States should take military action against Syrian regime targets.
“This would not be an open ended intervention. We would not put boots on the ground. Instead our action would be designed to be limited in duration and scope.
“But I’m confident we can hold the Assad regime accountable for their use of chemical weapons, deter this kind of behaviour and degrade their capacity to carry it out.”
His surprise decision follows the UK parliament’s vote not to use force against the Assad regime.
The statement came after news that UN weapons inspectors had left Syria for The Hague yesterday carrying evidence and witness accounts from the sites of chemical weapons attacks.They are expected to report their findings within a week.
US Secretary of State John Kerry paved the way for war by revealing US intelligence officials were “confident” Syrian President Bashar al-Assad did launch horrific chemical attacks on his own people.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had suggested rebels fighting the Assad regime were responsible for the attacks, which the US say killed more than 1,400 people including 400 children.
Meanwhile, thousands of terrified Syrians poured into neighbouring Lebanon last night as American warships took up position in the Mediterranean.
Former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell warned airstrikes could spark retaliation from Syria destabilising the entire Middle East.
The MP said: “I am anxious about the long-term consequences of military action.
“Both in Whitehall and Washington, it is claimed that any strike against the facilities of the Assad regime would not amount to intervention.
“But in the minds of President Assad and Putin and the opposition forces in Syria, it would certainly have been regarded as intervention.
“There should be quite a persuasive argument that you do not intervene unless you are satisfied that having done so, things will improve.” Prime Minister David Cameron recalled Parliament early on Thursday, calling for MPs to back missile strikes in Syria.
But his motion to press ahead with strikes if backed by a second Commons vote was embarrassingly defeated, with 39 members of his own party rebelling.
In a 15-minute phone call to the Prime Minister, President Obama is said to have told Cameron he fully respects Britain’s approach.”
Professor Rosemary Hollis, head of Middle East studies at London’s City University said a “limited strike” could provide a political resolution.
She said: “A strike could strengthen the hand of the rebels so that they could reconsider the value of sitting down with Assad.”
In London, anti-war protesters hailed Parliament’s vote against British intervention as a “victory” as they gathered in Trafalgar Square yesterday to show their opposition to military strikes.
About a thousand campaigners carried banners with slogans such as No Attack on Syria and Hands Off Syria and Syrian flags.
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