Trump says chemical attack in Syria crossed many lines

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley holds photographs of victims during a meeting at the United Nations Security Council on Syria at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, NY, US April 5, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

COUNTER-RESOLUTION

The United States, Britain and France have proposed a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that would condemn the attack;the Russian Foreign Ministry called it "unacceptable" and said it was based on "fake information".

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would press its case blaming the rebels and Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said Russia would veto the draft if Western nations went to a vote without further consultations, Interfax news agencyreported.

Moscow has proposed its own draft, TASS news agency quoted aspokesman of Russia's U.N. mission, Fyodor Strzhizhovsky, as saying on Wednesday.

The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley,issued what appeared to be a threat of unilateral action if Security Council members could not agree.

"When the United Nations consistently fails in its duty to act collectively, there are times in the life of states that we are compelled to take our own action," she told the council,without elaborating.

Trump described the attack as "horrible" and "unspeakable." He faulted Obama for failing to carry through on his "red line" threat and when asked if he had responsibility to respond to the attack, said: "I now have responsibility".

The new incident means Trump is faced with same dilemma that faced his predecessor: whether to openly challenge Moscow and risk deep involvement in a Middle East war by seeking to punish Assad for using banned weapons, or compromise and accept the Syrian leader remaining in power at the risk of looking weak.

While some rebels hailed Trump's statement as an apparent shift in the US position, others said it was too early to say whether the comments would result in a real change in policy.

Fares al-Bayoush, a Free Syrian Army commander, toldReuters: "Today's statement contains a serious difference fromthe previous statements, and we expect positivity ... from theAmerican role.

Others who declined to be identified said they would wait and see.

Video uploaded to social media showed civilians sprawled on the ground, some in convulsions, others lifeless. Rescue workershose down the limp bodies of small children, trying to wash awaychemicals. People wail and pound on the chests of victims.

The charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said one of itshospitals in Syria had treated patients "with symptoms - dilatedpupils, muscle spasms, involuntary defecation - consistent withexposure to neuro-toxic agents such as sarin". The World HealthOrganization also said the symptoms were consistent withexposure to a nerve agent.

"We're talking about war crimes," French U.N. AmbassadorFrancois Delattre told reporters in New York.

Labib Nahhas, chief of foreign relations at Ahrar al-Sham,one of the biggest rebel groups in western Syria, called theRussian statement factually wrong and one which contradictedwitness accounts.

"This statement provides Assad with the required coverageand protection to continue his despicable slaughter of theSyrian people," Nahhas told Reuters.

The incident is the first time US intelligence officialshave accused Assad of using sarin since 2013, when hundreds ofpeople died in an attack on a Damascus suburb. At that time,Washington said Assad had crossed a "red line" set bythen-President Obama.

Obama threatened an air campaign to topple Assad but called it off at the last minute when the Syrian leader agreed to give up his chemical arsenal under a deal brokered by Moscow, adecision which Trump has long said proved Obama's weakness.

Reuters