Missile
strikes against Syria could be launched “as early as Thursday, August
29, 2013” senior U.S. officials said Tuesday, August 27, 2013, as
the White House intensified its push toward an international response
to the suspected use of chemical weapons. |
| The
“three days” of strikes would be limited in scope, and aimed
at sending a message to Syria's President Bashar Assad rather than degrading
his military capabilities, U.S. officials told NBC News.
News on the possible timescale for military action followed another round
of telephone diplomacy by President Barack Obama and his administration.
Obama held discussions with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and French
President Francois Hollande on Monday, while Secretary of State John Kerry
spoke to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in addition to political leaders
in Britain, France, Jordan Turkey, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
and Qatar.
The U.S. officials reiterated that any military action would not aim to
kill Assad and would be limited because the goal would be to respond to
the use of chemical weapons. Command and control bunkers, airfields and
artillery would be targeted.
The rebel Free Syria Army’s top general, Salim Idris, said Tuesday
that air strikes were needed to stop Assad from launching more chemical
attacks.
“If there is no action, we are afraid that in the coming days, not
coming weeks, Bashar will use chemical weapons and chemical materials
against very wide areas and, I’m afraid, to kill maybe 20,000 or
30,000 more people,” he told NBC News’ Chief Foreign Correspondent
Richard Engel.
Some U.S. allies, most notably Britain, have signaled that a quick, limited
military strike on Syria could take place without U.N. Security Council
approval. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that
such a move would be "a very grave violation of international law."
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