Assad denies chemical weapons use as US presses for Syria strike
SYRIAN President Bashar al-Assad denied that he was behind a chemical weapons attack on the Syrian people, as the White House yesterday pressed ahead with the uphill effort of persuading Congress to approve a military strike to punish Assad.
The Obama administration faces a crucial test vote set for Wednesday in the US Senate and White House chief of staff Denis McDonough made the rounds of five talk shows yestreday to argue for a resolution authorising a limited strike on Syria.
In Paris, US Secretary of State John Kerry did not rule out France’s suggestion that it go to the UN Security Council for an authorisation of a possible military strike once UN inspectors complete their report on attack near Damascus in which more than 1,400 people were killed.
Assad denied involvement the attack and said if the US has evidence, Washington should produce it, CBS reported yesterday.
“There has been no evidence that I used chemical weapons against my own people,” CBS reported Assad said in an interview conducted in Damascus. The report was a summary of the interview and did not contain any audio or video of Assad.