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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| President Obama 'sure Syria behind chemical attack' | President Obama 'sure Syria behind chemical attack' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| US President Barack Obama says the US has concluded that the Syrian government carried out a chemical weapons attacks near Damascus. | US President Barack Obama says the US has concluded that the Syrian government carried out a chemical weapons attacks near Damascus. |
| He said the use of chemical weapons affected US national interests and sending a "shot across the bows" could have a positive impact on Syria's war. | He said the use of chemical weapons affected US national interests and sending a "shot across the bows" could have a positive impact on Syria's war. |
| But in the interview with PBS, said he had not yet made a decision about whether to intervene militarily. | But in the interview with PBS, said he had not yet made a decision about whether to intervene militarily. |
| His comments follow a day of behind-the-scenes wrangling at the UN. | |
| The UK had been pushing for permanent members of the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution which would have authorised measures to protect civilians in Syria. | |
| However, Syrian ally Russia refused to agree to the resolution and the meeting produced no end to the diplomatic stalemate which has long characterised the UN position on Syria. | |
| The US State Department criticised "Russian intransigence" and said it could not allow diplomatic paralysis to serve as a shield for the Syrian leadership. | |
| Critics have questioned what purpose a limited strike on Syria could serve, but Mr Obama said it would send the government of Bashar al-Assad "a pretty strong signal that it better not do it [use chemical weapons] again". | |
| The US has yet to produce the intelligence it says shows Mr Assad's government is guilty of using chemical weapons, and UN weapons inspectors are still investigating inside Syria. | |
| UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said they need four more days to complete their investigations. |