BBC Interview - Over Attack without UN Mandate: "I would say the same thing that your foreign minister said I believe no nation no group of nation is bound by only one dimension of whether they make decision to respond to any self defense or any other violation of the kind of humanitarian violations we saw in Syria" US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel says the US military is "ready to go" in responding to Syria BBC. American forces are "ready" to launch strikes on Syria if President Barack Obama chooses to order an attack, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel says. "We have moved assets in place to be able to fulfil and comply with whatever option the president wishes to take," Mr Hagel told the BBC. US Secretary of State John Kerry has said there is "undeniable" proof that Syria used chemical weapons. The UK Parliament is to be recalled on Thursday to discuss possible responses. Prime Minister David Cameron, who has cut short his holiday and returned to London, said MPs would vote on a "clear motion" on the crisis. A good number of Syrians, in particular those supporting the regime, believe the visit of the UN chemical weapons investigation team is nothing but a move to justify a military attack on Syria. The opposition, however, thinks that these visits will lead to some evidence being unearthed, proving that chemical weapons have been used against civilians by the Syrian regime. Above all, fear and discomfort are palpable among those living in the capital. People are haunted by the possibility of a Western military strike on Syria, discussion of which is dominating the headlines of satellite channels. "I don't want Syria to become another Iraq... Enough bloodshed," cried one Syrian woman. "We, and thousands like us across Syria, will face any country that tries to attack us," threatened a young man, pointing at his weapon, which he uses to protect his neighbourhood. "These are Syria's problems and it is up to us, Syrians, to solve them." Syria's allies, Russia and China, have stepped up their warnings against military intervention in Syria, with Moscow saying any such action would have "catastrophic consequences" for the region. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem has said he rejects "utterly and completely" claims that Syrian forces used chemical weapons. His government has blamed rebel fighters for the latest suspected chemical attack, which took place on 21 August near the Syrian capital Damascus and reportedly killed more than 300 people. But later the Arab League said it held Syrian President Bashar al-Assad responsible for the attacks and called for UN action. On Monday, United Nations chemical weapons inspectors were fired on while investigating one of the five alleged chemical weapons attack sites around Damascus. 'We are prepared' Mr Hagel said the US Department of Defence had provided President Obama with "all options for all contingencies". Mr Kerry is of course right that most people will think as he does, simply from watching the TV pictures. Some, however, will demand much stronger proof, particularly in the wake of the faulty intelligence that was used as a reason to go to war against Iraq" "He has seen them, we are prepared," he told the BBC's Jon Sopel, adding: "We are ready to go." Mr Hagel said that intelligence currently being gathered by the UN inspectors would confirm that the Syrian government was responsible for the chemical attack last week. "I think it's pretty clear that chemical weapons were used against people in Syria," he said. "I think the intelligence will conclude that it wasn't the rebels who used it, and there'll probably be pretty good intelligence to show is that the Syria government was responsible. But we'll wait and determine what the facts and the intelligence bear out." Our correspondent says he left little doubt that he believes the Assad government is responsible and is ready to execute the orders of his commander-in-chief. Mr Hagel's remarks come a day after Mr Kerry accused the Syrian government of destroying evidence of its chemical weapons use near Damascus by shelling the area. Continue reading the main story Models for possible intervention Iraq 1991: US-led global military coalition, anchored in international law; explicit mandate from UN Security Council to evict Iraqi forces from Kuwait Balkans 1990s: US arms supplied to anti-Serb resistance in Croatia and Bosnia in defiance of UN-mandated embargo; later US-led air campaign against Serb paramilitaries. In 1999, US jets provided bulk of 38,000 Nato sorties against Serbia to prevent massacres in Kosovo - legally controversial with UN Security Council resolutions linked to "enforcement measures" Somalia 1992-93: UN Security Council authorised creation of international force with aim of facilitating humanitarian supplies as Somali state failed. Gradual US military involvement without clear objective culminated in Black Hawk Down disaster in 1993. US troops pulled out.

• published: 06 Sep 2013
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