'Syria will answer for chemical weapons'
25 July 2012 7:28 AM IST
US President Barack Obama has warned Syria’s Assad regime that it would be held ‘accountable’ if it uses its stockpile of chemical weapons.
‘Given the regime’s stockpiles of chemical weapons, we will continue to make it clear to Assad and those around him that the world is watching, and that they will be held accountable by the international community and the United States, should they make the tragic mistake of using those weapons,’ Obama said.
Addressing the 113th National Convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Reno, Nevada, Obama said that his administration is working for a transition so the Syrian people can have a better future, free of the Assad regime.
‘We will continue to work with our friends and our allies and the Syrian opposition on behalf of the day when the Syrian people have a government that respects their basic rights to live in peace and freedom and dignity,’ he said.
Obama’s remarks came hours after the Pentagon issued a similar warning to the Assad regime.
‘The Syrian regime is already responsible for unacceptable levels of deplorable violence against the Syrian population, and they should not think one iota about using chemical weapons,’ the Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said.
When chemical weapons are mentioned in the press by Syrian officials, that raises concerns.
‘And we just want to make it known that we would strongly object, to put it mildly, to any thinking that would generate a motivation on the part of the Syrian regime to employ these weapons,’ said Little said.
‘We’ve been talking with a number of our partners about the situation in Syria. We, and they, share very serious concerns about the overall situation in Syria, to include chemical weapons,’ he said, adding that the Syrian regime is aware of the concerns of the international community.
‘We believe that public messaging has an effect. We also believe that the regime has received the message through other channels,’ Little said.
Meanwhile, the rebel Free Syrian Army claimed on Tuesday that the Syrian government has moved chemical weapons to airports on its borders.
‘We in the joint command of the Free Syrian Army inside the country know very well the locations and positions of these weapons,’ a statement from the FSA said.’We also reveal that (President Bashar al-)Assad has transferred some of these weapons and equipment for mixing chemical components to airports on the border.’
According to the statement, the weapons had been moved in a bid to pressure the international community, much of which has called for Assad to step aside in the face of a 16-month uprising against his rule.Afp
MICHELLE OFF TO LONDON
US First Lady, Michelle Obama, is visiting London to attend the summer Olympics starting later this week, wherein she hopes to further her agenda of inspiring more kids to become active as part of her ‘Let’s Move!’ initiative.
‘Leading our nation’s delegation and travelling to London is truly a dream come true,’ the First Lady said in a conference call with reporters ahead of her London visit, where she would be leading a US delegation to the Olympics. ‘If anybody had asked me when I was 10 or 11 or 20, or actually 40, whether I would be doing this, I would have bet not. Some of my fondest memories – when I was young and not so young –involve watching the Olympics on TV and cheering on Team USA,’ she said.
Michelle said that as part of this trip and her ‘Let’s Move’ initiative to solve the problem of childhood obesity, she decided that she wanted to turn that Olympic spirit and inspiration into action by using these games as a way to get more kids up and moving.
‘And that’s why I challenged the US Olympic Committee and 10 of its governing bodies to commit to helping one million kids get active in their communities this year. And we thought that the goal of one million kids was an ambitious target, but our partners not only met that goal, they added another 700,000 more to that commitment. So that means that 1.7 million young people are going to be participating in Olympic and Paralympic sports in their communities this year as a result of these commitments,’ she said.
US TALKS TO CHINA ABOUT SYRIA
The United States’ national security advisor held talks with President Hu Jintao and other Chinese leaders, after Beijing’s veto of a UN Security Council resolution on Syria angered Washington.
Thomas Donilon, the first national security advisor to visit China in eight years, also met Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo, a foreign policy heavyweight who said Beijing attached ‘great importance’ to the visit. ‘Your visit this time is very special and important considering the timing, the background and the mission that you carry with you,’ Dai told Donilon at the start of the meeting.
Donilon, who will also visit Japan during his trip, said he had been dispatched by President Barack Obama as part of the two countries’ ‘intensive interaction and dialogue’.
Though economic and business ties have boomed along with China’s economic development, the two sides are beset by regular tensions over human rights and other issues.
Last week China, along with Russia, vetoed a resolution at the United Nations Security Council aimed at Syria. The resolution had been backed by Washington, Britain and a number of other countries.
The Obama administration criticised Beijing’s veto as ‘highly regrettable’.
‘Given the regime’s stockpiles of chemical weapons, we will continue to make it clear to Assad and those around him that the world is watching, and that they will be held accountable by the international community and the United States, should they make the tragic mistake of using those weapons,’ Obama said.
Addressing the 113th National Convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Reno, Nevada, Obama said that his administration is working for a transition so the Syrian people can have a better future, free of the Assad regime.
‘We will continue to work with our friends and our allies and the Syrian opposition on behalf of the day when the Syrian people have a government that respects their basic rights to live in peace and freedom and dignity,’ he said.
Obama’s remarks came hours after the Pentagon issued a similar warning to the Assad regime.
‘The Syrian regime is already responsible for unacceptable levels of deplorable violence against the Syrian population, and they should not think one iota about using chemical weapons,’ the Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said.
When chemical weapons are mentioned in the press by Syrian officials, that raises concerns.
‘And we just want to make it known that we would strongly object, to put it mildly, to any thinking that would generate a motivation on the part of the Syrian regime to employ these weapons,’ said Little said.
‘We’ve been talking with a number of our partners about the situation in Syria. We, and they, share very serious concerns about the overall situation in Syria, to include chemical weapons,’ he said, adding that the Syrian regime is aware of the concerns of the international community.
‘We believe that public messaging has an effect. We also believe that the regime has received the message through other channels,’ Little said.
Meanwhile, the rebel Free Syrian Army claimed on Tuesday that the Syrian government has moved chemical weapons to airports on its borders.
‘We in the joint command of the Free Syrian Army inside the country know very well the locations and positions of these weapons,’ a statement from the FSA said.’We also reveal that (President Bashar al-)Assad has transferred some of these weapons and equipment for mixing chemical components to airports on the border.’
According to the statement, the weapons had been moved in a bid to pressure the international community, much of which has called for Assad to step aside in the face of a 16-month uprising against his rule.Afp
MICHELLE OFF TO LONDON
US First Lady, Michelle Obama, is visiting London to attend the summer Olympics starting later this week, wherein she hopes to further her agenda of inspiring more kids to become active as part of her ‘Let’s Move!’ initiative.
‘Leading our nation’s delegation and travelling to London is truly a dream come true,’ the First Lady said in a conference call with reporters ahead of her London visit, where she would be leading a US delegation to the Olympics. ‘If anybody had asked me when I was 10 or 11 or 20, or actually 40, whether I would be doing this, I would have bet not. Some of my fondest memories – when I was young and not so young –involve watching the Olympics on TV and cheering on Team USA,’ she said.
Michelle said that as part of this trip and her ‘Let’s Move’ initiative to solve the problem of childhood obesity, she decided that she wanted to turn that Olympic spirit and inspiration into action by using these games as a way to get more kids up and moving.
‘And that’s why I challenged the US Olympic Committee and 10 of its governing bodies to commit to helping one million kids get active in their communities this year. And we thought that the goal of one million kids was an ambitious target, but our partners not only met that goal, they added another 700,000 more to that commitment. So that means that 1.7 million young people are going to be participating in Olympic and Paralympic sports in their communities this year as a result of these commitments,’ she said.
US TALKS TO CHINA ABOUT SYRIA
The United States’ national security advisor held talks with President Hu Jintao and other Chinese leaders, after Beijing’s veto of a UN Security Council resolution on Syria angered Washington.
Thomas Donilon, the first national security advisor to visit China in eight years, also met Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo, a foreign policy heavyweight who said Beijing attached ‘great importance’ to the visit. ‘Your visit this time is very special and important considering the timing, the background and the mission that you carry with you,’ Dai told Donilon at the start of the meeting.
Donilon, who will also visit Japan during his trip, said he had been dispatched by President Barack Obama as part of the two countries’ ‘intensive interaction and dialogue’.
Though economic and business ties have boomed along with China’s economic development, the two sides are beset by regular tensions over human rights and other issues.
Last week China, along with Russia, vetoed a resolution at the United Nations Security Council aimed at Syria. The resolution had been backed by Washington, Britain and a number of other countries.
The Obama administration criticised Beijing’s veto as ‘highly regrettable’.
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