Syria attack is not Iraq or Afghanistan, says Obama

During a meeting with congressional leaders at the White House, President Obama called for a prompt vote on Capitol Hill and reiterated that the US plan would be limited in scope and not repeat the long US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“What we are envisioning is something limited. It is something proportional. It will degrade Assad’s capabilities,” President Obama said.

“At the same time we have a broader strategy that will allow us to upgrade the capabilities of the opposition,” he said.

President Obama indicated willingness to address congressional concerns about the authorisation for force that the White House sent to congress.

Meanwhile a former Syrian forensic medicine expert had been expected to provided evidence that the Assad regime used chemical weapons, opposition forces said on Tuesday.

Abdeltawwab Shahrour, head of the forensic medicine committee in Syria, claims there was a chemical attack in Khan al-Assal, Aleppo, on March 19, said Istanbul-based opposition coalition spokeswoman Sarah Karkour.

However, a spokesman said on Tuesday that Mr Shahrour was delayed for security reasons.

‘Catastrophic consequences’

President Obama must seek the backing of the congress for action. However, a retired US general said on Tuesday that the plans could involve “much more substance than we were led to believe”.

General Jack Keane, a former vice chief of staff of the US Army, told BBC Radio 4: “What he [Obama] won’t do is topple the regime. There’s a distinction here.

“What he has told the two senators is that he also intends to assist the opposition forces, so he is going to degrade Assad’s military capacity and he is going to assist and upgrade the opposition forces with training assistance.”

Mr Keane said any training would probably be done in neighbouring Jordan rather than in Syria itself.

Read more: congress must approve Syria strike, says Obama

The retired US general also admitted David Cameron‘s “humiliating defeat” in the Commons forced President Obama to seek political support for military action in Syria.

Mr Keane added: “We operate side by side with the UK and we know who our closest ally is. We certainly would much rather do this with the UK side by side, that’s how the military feels, I really think the leaders of the country feel.

“I think, if I may use some rich language here, the humiliating defeat the prime minister suffered in parliament, I can only surmise was stunning to the president and I think it impacted on him.

“I think that’s one of the motivations that introduced what I call palpable fear and one of the reasons why he is seeking political cover himself.”

US Senator John McCain had earlier said that a no vote on military action on Syria would be “catastrophic.”

He added: “We have to make it clear that a vote against this would be catastrophic in its consequences.”

‘Missile strike’

The US was forced to deny claims that it fired missiles in the Mediterranean on Tuesday morning.

The Israel defence ministry said that it, together with the US, had carried out a “successful test” in the Mediterranean and on an air force base in central Israel.

However, the US, which has warships in the Mediterranean, said it did not fire any missiles.

A spokesman for the US Navy’s European headquarters said: “No missiles were fired from US ships in the Mediterranean.” He had no further comment on the reported missile activity.

Meanwhile on Tuesday Abdeltawwab Shahrour, head of the forensic medicine committee in Syria, is expected to make public his evidence of the Bashar al-Assad administration’s involvement in a March 19 chemical attack in Khan al-Assal, a Syrian opposition coalition spokesperson said.

He is expected to say he is defecting to Turkey, the Istanbul-based opposition said.

‘Ballistic objects’

Russia raised the alarm on Tuesday after detecting the launch of two ballistic “objects” in the Mediterranean sea.

There were no reports of missile strikes on Syria. Syrian state sources said the missiles had fallen harmlessly into the sea, and Russian news agencies reported there were no explosions in the capital Damascus.

The Russian embassy in Syria said there were no signs of a missile attack or explosions in Damascus, state-run Itar-Tass news agency reported.

Syria’s early warning radar system did not detect any missiles landing on Syrian territory, according to a Syrian security source quoted by Lebanon’s al-Manar television station.

Russia opposes any outside military intervention in the Syrian civil war, and a defence ministry official had earlier criticised the US for deploying warships in the Mediterranean close to Syria.

Read more: Syria - the military options

Five US destroyers and an amphibious ship are in the Mediterranean, poised for possible strikes against Syria with cruise missiles – which are not ballistic. US officials said the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and four other ships in its strike group moved into the Red sea on Monday.

‘Every possible option’

Meanwhile in the UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Tuesday that Mr Cameron will pursue every possible option for Syria when he visits the G20 summit in Russia.

Mr Hague said the conflict in Syria would dominate the bilateral meetings between countries but it was up to the Russian government to set the agenda for multilateral talks, which will take place at the summit in St Petersburg on Thursday and Friday.

Speaking during Foreign Office questions in the House of Commons, Mr Hague also condemned the Syrian regime for preventing vital humanitarian aid from reaching Syrian refugees.

Read more: Cameron loses Syria vote, no UK military intervention

Mr Hague said: “Our problem is not being unable to discuss these things in the international community – it is being unable to agree how we bring about a transitional government in Syria, formed from government and opposition by mutual consent.”

Mr Hague said the government would hold talks with the president of the National Coalition in Syria, Ahmad Jarba, on Thursday, when there would be further talks on what Britain could do to help save lives.

The foreign secretary added: “We support a strong international response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria while of course respecting the views of this house.”