On Monday, the White House issued a stern warning to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, saying he and his military would pay dearly if it carries out a chemical weapon attack. Washington said it had reason to believe that preparations for chemical attacks were being nursed by the regime.
In a statement on Monday, the White House said preparations for the attack were similar to those carried out before April 4 that killed many civilians. The chemical attack prompted President Donald Trump to immediately act to protect the civilian population by carrying a cruise missile strike on an air base in Syria, believed to have a stockpile of chemical weapons.
White House warning
Vox News reported that the White House press secretary Sean Spicer said The United States has identified possible preparations for another round of chemical weapon, assault by the Assad regime, which would probably result in loss of innocent lives, children and the vulnerable would be affected. “If... Mr. Assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price,” Spicer cautioned.
Trump administration officials declined to comment on how the U.S. intelligence got the information that led to the public declaration about Syria’s plans to carry out another attack.
In reaction to what the U.S. said was a gas poison attack by the Assad regime back in April, President Trump ordered a strike on a Syrian Shayrat airfield base.
The Syrian government denied carrying out the attack which killed at least 87 people in the rebel-held territory.
The Syrian President accused the United States of manufacturing the alleged attack in April as means to justify its air strike on Syria. The U.S. and its allied intelligence partners had mapped out many sites, suspecting that the Syrian government may have hidden the chemical weapons before inspectors.
Reports of abnormal activity
According to a U.S. intelligence official who preferred to be anonymous, the warning was issued amid new reports that there was abnormal activity that might be connected with preparations for a chemical launch.
Though the report was inconclusive, the Trump administration swiftly responded by issuing the public warning of the devastating effects of another round of chemical attacks by the Assad regime.
The move was aimed at deterring the Syrian government from embarking on any attack that could lead to the death of civilians.
The U.S. has demonstrated its willingness to carry out strikes against the Syrian regime and its allied forces, including Iran, over the past three months.
