Guardian: US Spreading Rumors of Chemical Weapons to Invade Syria

The US is spreading rumors about the use of chemical weapons in Syria to find an excuse for launching military strike on Damascus, a British daily disclosed on Saturday.

A flurry of leaks from the Pentagon and US State Department accusing Syria of preparing to use chemical weapons is being used by the US President Barack Obama’s administration to underpin threats of military action against Syria, Guardian wrote.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in provocative remarks last Monday claimed that the US will take action if Syrian government uses chemical weapons.

The US claims have been met with incredulity by Syria’s principal allies, Iran and Russia, which have suggested they are being used as a pretext to increase pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and to prepare for the use of force against the country.

Also CNN on Friday quoted a Pentagon official as saying the US had updated its military options for a potential strike against Syria. The official told CNN the US “has all the firepower it needs in the region” to attack Syria if Barack Obama orders it.

It is not clear if the Pentagon and US State Department leaks are coordinated, but they have had the effect of sharply increasing the pressure on Syria and its allies, particularly Russia.

The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said Washington is speaking of chemical weapons which do not exist in practice, and this plot echoes the US claims about chemical weapons in Iraq before the 2003 invasion.

The alleged chemical weapons threat has been used by NATO’s Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen to justify deploying Patriot missiles in neighboring Turkey.