WarSclerotic

As the White House vacillates over the reported chemical weapons massacre this week in Syria, pressure is mounting on U.S. President Barack Obama from inside the U.S. and from abroad to stand by his commitment to act decisively.

An editorial in The Washington Post called on the Obama administration to verify quickly whether Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces used chemical weapons in the attack, which opposition groups said killed up to 1,300 people, many of them women and children.

“The United States should be using its own resources to determine, as quickly as possible, whether the opposition’s reports of large-scale use of gas against civilians are accurate. If they are, Mr. Obama should deliver on his vow not to tolerate such crimes by ordering direct U.S. retaliation against the Syrian military forces responsible and by adopting a plan to protect civilians in southern Syria with a no-fly zone,” the newspaper said.

It pointed to a statement by Obama a year ago, when he said that the use of chemical weapons “would change my calculus. That would change my equation.”

A senior U.S. official told The Wall Street Journal there was a “strong indication” that Syria’s government had used chemical weapons in attacks on outlying Damascus neighborhoods. The newspaper also reported that the Pentagon was updating the White House on possible Syrian targets.

However, the State Department said it could not verify opposition claims of chemical warfare.

“At this time, right now, we are unable to conclusively determine CW [chemical weapons] use,” the State Department’s Jen Psaki told reporters. “We are doing everything possible in our power to nail down the facts.”

Psaki echoed previous U.S. statements over the American reaction should the use of chemical weapons be proved. She said Obama and National Security Council staff were weighing a possible response, and that the president was busy reviewing American intelligence reports to determine the veracity of Syrian reports of Assad loyalists’ use of chemical weapons.

Another U.S. official said intelligence agencies were not given a deadline and would take the time needed to “reach a conclusion with confidence.” The U.S. called on the Assad government to grant a Damascus-based U.N. team access to the alleged attack sites around Damascus.

The U.N. Security Council met on Thursday to discuss the issue, saying it was looking to clarify opposition claims of chemical warfare.

“There is a strong concern among council members about the allegations and a general sense that there must be clarity on what happened and the situation must be followed closely,” Argentina’s U.N. Ambassador, Maria Cristina Perceval, said after the closed-door meeting.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the area of the alleged chemical weapons attack “needs to be investigated without delay,” and vowed to send disarmament chief Angela Kane to Damascus to press for a probe. He said the U.N. had asked Assad to give its investigators access to the area. According to diplomats in the Security Council, the U.N. intended to call for an official investigation — with backing from the U.S., Britain and France — but Russia and China opposed the measure. The declaration was withheld.

The U.K. said a diplomatic solution to the Syrian civil war was still the best option, but cautioned that it was not ruling out other options.

“We believe a political solution is the best way to end the bloodshed,” a statement from the British Foreign Office said. “However, the Prime Minister [David Cameron] and Foreign Secretary [William Hague] have said … many times we cannot rule out any option … that might save innocent lives in Syria.”

France’s foreign minister on Wednesday said the international community had to respond if the allegations were verified.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said “all red lines” in Syria had been crossed, and criticized international inaction. He said action was needed to “prevent further chemical strikes.”

Iran, one of Syria’s closest allies, denied that the Damascus regime would ever use chemical weapons, accusing “terrorists groups” instead.

“If the information over the use of chemical weapons is correct, they were most definitely used by terrorist groups,” said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Meanwhile, Syrians were still searching for bodies among the rubble in Damascus.

“We’re finding whole families who were wiped out in their homes, in the small towns that were bombed,” a Douma resident told Saudi-owned news network Al-Arabiya. “In one building in Douma, we found dozens more bodies of families who apparently inhaled the gas and perished. They look like they’re sleeping, but they’re dead. Fathers, mothers, children and the elderly — everyone dead because of the poison gas.”

Syrian troops bombarded Damascus suburbs controlled by opposition groups on Thursday, albeit without the alleged use of chemical warfare. Two hundred and fifty people were reportedly killed during the extensive bombing.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem blamed regional powers for the ongoing civil conflict gripping his country. He said Israel, which is technically still at war with Damascus, and Gulf countries were conspiring against Syria. He rejected claims that Assad loyalists used chemical weapons against rebel strongholds, calling them “lies without so much as a shred of truth.”

“Israel is attacking Syrian army positions, arming rebels and giving them medical treatment in Israel,” Muallem said. He denied that Damascus was placing restrictions on the freedom of movement of U.N. inspectors.