U.S. intel suggests no chemical weapons in Syria attack

In this Tuesday March 19, 2013, citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, black smoke rises from a building due to Syrian government forces shelling, in Aleppo, Syria. / AMC,AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center

Updated 5:51 PM ET

WASHINGTON A senior U.S. official is saying that the U.S. now has strong indications that chemical weapons were not used in the attack in Syria Tuesday.

Officials won't entirely rule out the possibility. But this official says additional intelligence-gathering has led the U.S. to believe more strongly that it was not a weaponized chemical attack.

• Is "red line" on Syria's chemical weapons blurring?
• Obama: Chemical weapons in Syria would be game changer
• Obama in Israel, but Syria fears dominate

The U.S. and allies have been looking into allegations by the Syrian regime that rebels carried out a chemical weapons attack in northern Aleppo province. Rebels blame regime forces.

There are fears President Bashar Assad would use chemical weapons against his people in the ongoing civil war and also concerns that al Qaeda linked rebels might obtain and use them.

The official wasn't authorized to speak publicly about the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Earlier, some lawmakers on Capitol Hill wasted no time in calling for the Obama administration to consider military action. However, the drumbeat died down as the administration stressed the need for "facts" and real evidence before deciding how to proceed - a contrast to how the Bush administration reacted 10 years ago after using flawed intelligence about weapons of mass destruction as the impetus for the war in Iraq.

• Calls for U.S. military action in Syria subside, for now

The hawkish reaction from members of Congress followed an intelligence briefing given to lawmakers where, CBS News' David Martin reports, one high level official called the use of chemical weapons in Syria "probable," going further than the administration's original assessment that there was a "potential" use of chemical weapons.

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Rep. Rogers on Syria: "Probability," "evidence" of chemical weapons use

"There's, at least, a high probability they have used, either in -- most recently or in the past, some amount of chemical weapons," House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., said on "CBS This Morning" Wednesday. "This is the time to act. Don't wait until we have 5,000 dead. That's too late." Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., echoed Rogers' remarks Tuesday afternoon.

By Wednesday afternoon, however, after President Obama and others weighed in, the call for action quieted down, and the claim that the "high probability" that chemical weapons were used, was overshadowed by the administration's measured response to the allegations.

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Obama: If Syria used chemical weapons, it's a "game changer"

The president, during a news conference in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday, stressed that before any action will be taken, his "teams" will investigate the allegations in Syria.

"In Syria right now you've got a war zone. You have information that's filtered out, but we have to make sure that we know exactly what happened, what was the nature of the incident, what can we document and what can we prove," said Mr. Obama, who has previously stated that the Syrian government's use of chemical weapons would be a "red line" for possible U.S. military action.

"Once we establish the facts, I have made clear that the use of chemical weapons is a game changer," he added.

Meanwhile, the United Nations will investigate the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria, which would amount to a crime against humanity, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced Thursday.

The investigation could be broader than the Syrian government's request for an independent probe of a purported chemical weapons attack on Tuesday. Ban said he was aware of allegations of other, similar attacks and hoped the probe would ultimately help secure Syria's chemical weapons stockpile.

U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said France and Britain sent a letter to Ban Thursday asking for an investigation of three alleged chemical weapons attacks. He said Ban will review this suggestion as the U.N. develops the mandate for the investigation.

Syria is widely believed to have a large stockpile of chemical weapons. The government has not confirmed it, saying only that it would never use chemical weapons against its own people.

"My announcement should serve as an unequivocal reminder that the use of chemical weapons is a crime against humanity," the secretary-general said. "The international community needs full assurance that chemical weapons stockpiles are verifiably safeguarded."

[nonpolitico]

Didn`t US Intelligence report that Saddam Hussein had "Weapons of Mass Destruction" also??
10 years on we are now saying no WMD as the ONLY dictator WITH WMD uses it on his own people.
If you wanna be told the truth on this issue, get your news from Mid East tv stations! Only neutered BS is available from the LameStream US media!!

[quincytodd]

What you call the LameStream US media is actually the right-wing news media which spares very little effort in trying to brainwash the public into believing in these obnoxious wars being waged by the right-wing thugs in Washington. The surprise here is that it admits to there being no chemical weapons in Assad's arsenal or not being used as such.

[thinker7456]

The US cannot dictate the behavior of every country in the world. Syria is an excellent place to let the country determine its own fate.

If the US can help refugees who leave the country, that would be a good way to help the human condition. In general, helping the people who do not fight seems a worthwhile goal.

[oldoc44]

If this intiial bogus report of so-called chem weapons came out of the insurgents, we need to learn once and for all not to trust anything these crazies say! We need to remember this is just like all the other arab spring stuff - tribal and religious groups infighting for power as they have done for centuries with no concern for human life! A culture so very different from ours and they should be entitled to do as they see fit as sovereign nations on their own soil. - as repugnant as it may be to western ideas.

[oldoc44]

Nice try! Once again, some group of profiteers or predator/warhawks tried to BS our country into another misguided bogus war! Sounds just like the nonsense we heard about Iraq before that debacle got started. Not to say that our crack intelligence crew is always spot on, but if these guys over there want to kill and maim each other like they have done for centuries with no regard for human suffering, let them have at it - just leave us out of it!!

[democracy8]

I agree.

[antoniof123]

Mr. President, I am glad I voted for you thank you for not starting another useless war.

The Republicans would have gone in made another mess and found nothing.

Why are they still even listened too?

[robert1129]

Obama did the right thing and Graham, McCain, Rodgers, et al should be ashamed of themselves. They are so eager for a new war.

Before we have a new war, the Repubs need to concede that we would have to reinstate the draft and come up with a new war tax. Let's see how eager they would be then?

[sweetcakesmaria]

America has to be the smarter country here and not get ourselves tricked into fighting in another Iraq like situation. This administration is very wise to not act on unsubstantiated rumors because we don't even know who control these chemical weapons. This administration along with allies and the United Nations should conduct a through investigation to determine who has control of these weapons and whether these weapons are secure or not before any other action is considered. In a country like Syria with Assad's top generals and other administration officials defecting to the rebels, it would only be a wild guess as to who is controlling and using chemical weapons. We must do this before even thinking about doing anything militarily because there are other outside entities in the area making unsubstantiated claims that chemical weapons were used by Assad. We need to remember Iraq and all of the faulty intelligence received by the Bush administration from other countries which eventually led America into a totally senseless war in Iraq.

[julianpenrod]

If it turns out the "rebels" use chemical weapons, will that be a game changer for Obama to declare war on them? Actually, this seems eminently suspicious, the quick decision that chemical weapons were not used. It sounds very much like chemicals were used, but it was also unshakably obvious from the start that government forces were not involved. So, since government forces could not be implicated, but chemicals were found, rather than place the blame where it belongs, the insurgent toadying "news" media simply dropped the allegation of chemicals altogether.

[antoniof123]

No you wing nuts are not going to get us into another one of your wars and not pay for it.

Increase taxes on yourselves only and send your kids to war than you can do what you want.

[jwilsonte]

Obama knows they have used chemical weapons two senators dont come out on half bake info!! hes just got cot in the redline b.s. when he said he'd break bad if they did comes under hes full of s3it and talks throw his a*s

[democracy8]

Get a GED and learn to spell basic English, for heaven's sake!

[raymailhot]

The original intelligence was the rebels had used chemical warfare. The current administration has too much invested to have that out there!

[democracy8]

No, that was NOT "the original intelligence", that was the assertion by the Syrian government. BIG difference.