Momentum appeared to build Wednesday for Western military action against Syria, with the U.S. and France saying they are in position for a strike, while the government in Damascus vowed to use all possible measures to repel it.
The prospect of a dramatic U.S.-led intervention into Syria\’s civil war stemmed from the West\’s assertion – still not endorsed by UN inspectors – that Syrian President Bashar Assad\’s government was responsible for an alleged chemical attack on civilians outside Damascus on August 21 that the group Doctors Without Borders says killed 355 people. Assad denies the claim.
The Arab League also threw its weight behind calls for punitive action, blaming the Syrian government for the attack and calling for those responsible to be brought to justice.
Israel\’s political-security cabinet convened on Wednesday morning to discuss a possible U.S. strike on Syria, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel would respond with force if it came under attack from Syria or any other forces.