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NEWS ABOUT: chemical weapons

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Syrians Allege Chemical Attack: 'Suffocating Smell'

BBC thinks evidence begins to add up

(Newser) - Government helicopters dropped chemical weapons last month on the Syrian town of Saraqeb, eyewitness testimony strongly suggests. A BBC correspondent visited the town, and was regaled with accounts and videos of box-like devices being dropped out of helicopters and emitting deadly gas. "It was a horrible, suffocating smell,"... More »

UN Suspects Syrian Rebels Used Nerve Gas

'Strong suspicions' but no proof yet, top investigator says

(Newser) - Another game-changer? One of the United Nations' chief investigators says evidence is building that sarin gas was used in the Syrian conflict—but by rebels, not Bashar al-Assad's regime. "Our investigators have been in neighboring countries interviewing victims, doctors, and field hospitals" and "there are strong, concrete... More »

McCain: Obama's 'Red Line' Written in 'Disappearing Ink'

Blasts White House for giving Assad 'green light'

(Newser) - John McCain blasted President Obama's handling of Syria today, reports the National Review , slamming his "red line" on chemical weapons as having been "written in disappearing ink.” The red line, he told Fox News, was really "a green light to Bashar al-Assad to do anything... More »

Insiders: Obama Ready to Arm Syrian Rebels

President planning more aggressive Syria policy, officials say

(Newser) - President Obama may not have sounded very threatening during yesterday's White House press conference , but senior administration officials say he is planning a much more aggressive line on Syria, the Washington Post reports. The president is planning to supply the Syrian opposition with lethal weaponry for the first time,... More »

Iran: Chemical Weapons in Syria a Red Line for Us, Too...

But Tehran thinks the rebels are to blame

(Newser) - Iran agrees with the US that the use of chemical weapons in Syria is a "red line" that cannot be crossed. But while the US thinks , but can't say for sure , that the government used chemicals on rebel fighters, Iran suggests precisely the opposite, reports Reuters . Its foreign... More »

Obama: We Don't Have All Facts in Syria

President addresses Syria, Boston, Guantanamo in press conference

(Newser) - The US is pretty sure someone has used chemical weapons in Syria—but it's not sure who, President Obama revealed at a White House press conference today, at which he invited reporters to ask him questions on whatever they pleased. "What we now have is evidence that chemical... More »

Syria Videos Cite 'Toxic' Attack

Apparent doctor calls for medicine in clip

(Newser) - After Chuck Hagel cautiously acknowledged potential Syrian chemical attacks, a batch of new videos appears to support the claims. The YouTube videos, via an account linked to Syria rebels, show apparently injured men on IVs and oxygen masks alongside others described as doctors, the New York Times reports. The clips... More »

Hagel: Syria Likely Used Chemical Weapons

Defense secretary says sarin gas probably used on 'small scale'

(Newser) - Have we crossed the red line? US intelligence has concluded with "some degree of varying confidence" that Bashar al-Assad's regime has used chemical weapons, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters in Abu Dhabi today, per the AP . The determination apparently came within the past day, and the White... More »

NYPD Staging Fake Bio-Terror Subway Attack

Releasing harmless gas to track its movement

(Newser) - Don't worry: The gas the NYPD will be releasing into the New York City subway system in July is totally harmless. The "per fluorocarbons" will be released as part of a $3.4 million-dollar study looking at airflow in the subway system, with the aim of helping authorities... More »

Israel: Syria Has Been Using Chemical Weapons

Ally says use has been 'continuous,' puts pressure on US

(Newser) - An Israeli official has offered the country's firmest assertion yet that Syria is using chemical arms, calling the evidence "quite clear," the New York Times reports. "The regime has increasingly used chemical weapons," says Brig. Gen. Itai Brun, the military's leading intelligence official, adding... More »

Britain, France: Syria Used Chemical Weapons

They want UN to launch broad investigation

(Newser) - Syria's Bashar al-Assad has indeed defied repeated US warnings not to use chemical weapons, say France and Britain. The two nations told the UN they have evidence that Syrian troops used nerve agents more than once in Aleppo, Homs, and maybe even Damascus, reports the Washington Post . Investigators drew... More »

Review Suggests Syria Didn't Use 'Chemical Weapons'

But it might have been a lesser 'caustic agent,' US officials tell CNN

(Newser) - Bashar al-Assad may not have crossed the red line after all. US intelligence officials don't think Syria used chemical weapons in Aleppo this week, reports CNN . At least, that's the conclusion after an initial review, which could change as more intelligence arrives. But analysts examining video say victims... More »

In Israel, Obama Warns Syria on Chemical Weapons

On Iran, says there's still time for diplomacy to work

(Newser) - Maybe the most newsworthy item out of President Obama's news conference today with Benjamin Netanyahu centered on Syria, not Israel. Obama said the US is investigating claims that chemical weapons were used in Aleppo, and he warned that Bashar al-Assad will be held accountable if he employed them, reports... More »

House Intel Chief: I Think Syria Used Chemicals

Assad blames rebels amid much confusion

(Newser) - So did Bashar al-Assad cross the "red line" that could trigger US involvement by using chemical weapons on rebels in Aleppo? Or did the rebels use them? Or neither? Confirmation remains elusive after an attack today that Syria's official news agency says left more than 30 dead and... More »

Chemical Weapon Fired in Syria: Report

Rebels blame regime, regime blames rebels; no verification yet

(Newser) - Both the government and rebels in Syria say a chemical weapon has been fired—but each side blames the other, the AP reports. Official Syrian news said "terrorists" (its term for the rebels) blasted a rocket "containing chemical materials" in Aleppo province today, killing 15, mostly civilians. Meanwhile,... More »

Israeli Strike Hit Syrian Chemical Weapons Facility

Meanwhile, Iran says Israel 'will regret' attack

(Newser) - Israel's airstrike inside Syria just happens to have damaged the country's top chemical and biological research center, though it wasn't the primary target of the attack, US officials tell the New York Times . A senior military official said Israel's actual targets were trucks carrying missiles and... More »

As Syria Unravels, Israel Threatens Hit on Chemical Weapons

Chemical arsenal won't be allowed to fall into Hezbollah's hands, officials warn

(Newser) - Israel has warned that it will launch a strike to prevent Syrian chemical weapons from falling into the hands of Hezbollah or other extremists, the AP reports. Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom told reporters that top security officials met last week to discuss the threat Syria's chemical weapons pose.... More »

Report: US Suspects Syria Used Chemical Weapons

State Department cable makes the case, says 'Foreign Policy'

(Newser) - Did Bashar al-Assad already use chemical weapons on his own people? A secret State Department cable obtained by Foreign Policy makes the case that a Syrian tank fired a shell loaded with a poison gas known as Agent 15 during fighting in Homs on Dec. 23. Doctors say five people... More »

Syria's Chemical Weapons Sparked Global Unity

'New York Times' takes a look at international response

(Newser) - The New York Times today takes a behind-the-scenes look at the Syria chemical weapons scare that erupted in early December . Israel first contacted the Pentagon in late November, concerned by satellite images showing Syrian troops likely making sarin gas bombs . That call sparked a rare show of cooperation between countries... More »

Wind Carried Sarin Gas to Gulf War Troops

Controversial paper cites bombing of Iraqi chemical weapons depots

(Newser) - A controversial new paper may shed light on Gulf War syndrome, a collection of symptoms seen in veterans of the 1991 conflict: Chemical weapons could be to blame. The researchers assert that when US troops bombed chemical weapons depots in Iraq, the neurotoxin sarin was sent into the atmosphere then... More »

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