US rules out unilateral action on Syria
A US official has ruled out unilateral military action against Syria, according to Agence France-Presse.
If correct, this would confirm speculation that the US will not want to launch a military strike against Bashar al-Assad’s regime without the backing of its allies.
Earlier today, the United Nations special envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi confirmed a chemical “substance” was used in an alleged poison gas attack last week. He added that US president Barack Obama's administration doesn't have a reputation for being "trigger-happy".
Speaking on CNBC earlier today, head of Middle East Analysis at IHS Country Risk Firas Abi Ali predicted that the US would “probably want to go through the motions of seeking some sort of UN resolution but they wouldn't go ahead unilaterally either”.
Agreement from the UN security council will be difficult to achieve, given that both Russia and China have opposed action against Syria in the past.