WarSclerotic

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Thursday said the US intelligence community believes the Syrian government has used sarin gas on a small scale against rebels trying to overthrow the government of Bashar Assad.

“This morning the White House delivered a letter to several members of Congress on the topic of chemical weapons use in Syria. The letter … states that the US intelligence community assesses with some degree of varying confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria,” Hagel told reporters traveling with him. He said it was sarin gas.

However, the White House stated that US Intelligence assessments on chemical weapons are not enough.

“Given the stakes involved, and what we have learned from our own recent experiences, intelligence assessments alone are not sufficient – only credible and corroborated facts that provide us with some degree of certainty will guide our decision-making,” Miguel Rodriguez, White House director of the office of legislative affairs, said in a letter to lawmakers. The White House added that the US is prepared for all contingencies on Syria to respond to any confirmed use of chemical weapons.

Shortly after the US announcement, Britain’s Foreign Office said on Thursday it had information showing chemical weapon use in Syria, and called on Assad to cooperate with international bodies to prove he had not sanctioned their use.

“We have limited but persuasive information from various sources showing chemical weapon use in Syria, including sarin. This is extremely concerning. Use of chemical weapons is a war crime,” a Foreign Office spokesman said in a statement.

Hagel’s comments came after he said on Wednesday the US effort to determine whether Syria has used chemical weapons is a “serious business” that cannot be decided in a rush just because several countries believe evidence supports that conclusion.

“Suspicions are one thing, evidence is another,” Hagel told reporters as he wrapped up a visit to Egypt that included talks about Syria and other regional issues.

“I think we have to be very careful here before we make any conclusions (and) draw any conclusions based on real intelligence. That’s not at all questioning other nations’ intelligence. But the United States relies on its own intelligence.”

The United States has warned that any chemical weapons use by Syria, now convulsed by civil war, would cross a “red line” that would trigger some unspecified response.

Hagel rejected suggestions the United States was undermining its credibility by saying it was continuing to assess the issue, even as France, Britain and Israel have concluded evidence suggests chemical arms have been used in Syria’s conflict.

A top Israeli military intelligence officer said on Tuesday that evidence supported the conclusion Syrian government forces had used chemical weapons – probably sarin – several times against rebels trying to overthrow President Bashar Assad.

The officer’s remarks came in the final moments of a three-day visit by Hagel to Israel.

Hagel, who had not previously commented on the Israeli report, said that while he had discussed the Syrian conflict and chemical weapons with Israeli leaders, he had not been given the findings cited by the intelligence officer.

“When I was in Israel they did not give me that assessment. I guess it wasn’t complete so I haven’t seen the specifics, haven’t talked to any Israeli officials, nor have I talked to any of our intelligence officials specifically about it.”