Kerry pushes for military action on Syria

US Secretary of State John Kerry claimed on Sunday that tests showed sarin gas was used in a deadly chemical attack near the Syrian capital Damascus on August 21 implicating the Syrian government in the attack.

Kerry’s comments came a day after US President Barack Obama said he thought the US should attack Syria for its alleged use of chemical weapons. Obama, however; linked the attack to Congress authorization.

Kerry said in several interviews on Sunday that hair and blood samples given to the US from emergency workers on the scene of the August 21 attack showed signs of the powerful sarin nerve gas.

He argued that there was no weakness in the US case against the Syrian government. “The case hasn’t changed and the case doesn’t change at all. The rationale for a military response is as powerful today” as it has been, Kerry said, adding that “This case is going to build stronger and stronger”.

Russia however has already rejected the case after its president, Vladimir Putin, described the US claims as “utter nonsense”.

Britain, a key ally of the US, was dealt a blow after the country’s parliament rejected on Thursday plans for a military intervention in Syria.

At home, average Americans and politicians are divided over how to tackle the Syrian crisis. A new NBC News poll shows half of American people do not support military action against Syria while only 35% approved of how the president is handling the crisis.

And while hawkish senators like John McCain and Lindsey Graham said in joint statement that they would not back “isolated military strikes” against Syria calling for removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power, the language of the White House’s resolution indicates that the military action does not aim to manipulate the outcome of the conflict but it “will only be resolved through a negotiated political settlement.”