OBAMA TALKS TOUGH ON SYRIA; STAGE SEEMS SET FOR ACTION!

The Obama administration hardened its stance against Syria's regime and stepped up preparations for possible military action, saying it believed Damascus used chemical weapons in an offensive last week and rebuffing its offer to let United Nations officials inspect the affected areas.

The White House, in statements issued by senior officials, signaled it wasn't backing away from a showdown with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad despite apparent efforts by Damascus to ease tensions by letting U.N. inspectors visit areas near Damascus that were allegedly hit with chemical weapons.
In recent days, the Pentagon has moved more warships into place in the eastern Mediterranean should President Barack Obama give the order to attack, officials said. The Pentagon has prepared military options for the White House that include cruise missile strikes on regime targets, officials said.
"If the Syrian government had nothing to hide and wanted to prove to the world that it had not used chemical weapons in this incident, it would have ceased its attacks on the area and granted immediate access to the U.N. five days ago," the U.S. official said. "At this juncture, the belated decision by the regime to grant access to the U.N. team is too late to be credible, including because the evidence available has been significantly corrupted as a result of the regime's persistent shelling and other intentional actions over the last five days."
The official said that—based on the reported number of victims, the reported symptoms of those who were killed or injured and other information—"there is very little doubt at this point that a chemical weapon was used by the Syrian regime against civilians in this incident."
The official said Mr. Obama is still assessing how to respond to "this indiscriminate use of chemical weapons." U.S. intelligence agencies are still probing last week's incident, and could present a final assessment to Mr. Obama within days.

Syrian state television reported a deal was reached following a meeting between Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem and Angela Kane, the U.N. disarmament chief, who arrived in Damascus on Saturday. It said the timing of the visit would be coordinated between the U.N. team led by Swedish scientist Ake Sellstrom and the Syrian government.Earlier, the U.N. said its inspection team was preparing to start its fact-finding mission on Monday after Syria said it would allow U.N. inspectors now in Damascus immediate access to areas around the capital where the opposition accused the regime of using chemical weapons against fighters and civilians last week.

• "The foreign minister affirmed Syria's desire to cooperate with the team of inspectors to unmask the falsehood of the allegations by terrorist groups that Syrian forces used chemical weapons in the eastern Ghouta," it added, referring to the eastern suburbs of Damascus and using the government's term for the rebels battling the regime.

Hundreds of people died in last Wednesday's attack, and human-rights groups say victims bear the hallmarks of sarin nerve gas.
A day earlier, a spokesman for the Syrian army said its forces found chemicals in liquid form and U.S.-made gas masks in a rebel hideout east of Damascus. He said this constituted "definitive proof" that it was rebels who used chemical weapons against civilians in the Damascus suburbs on Wednesday.
Syria's Minister of Information Omran al-Zoubi said rebels were responsible for the attacks "from A to Z." Speaking to Lebanon-based news channel Al-Mayadeen on Saturday he warned that any strike against Syria by Washington and its allies would be "no picnic."
"The chaos and the ball of fire and flames will consume not only Syria but the entire Middle East," he said.
Meanwhile, Russia warned Washington on Sunday against any unilateral military action in Syria, saying it would undermine efforts for peace and have a devastating impact on the security situation in the Middle East.
The Russian Foreign Ministry drew a parallel between reports over the Assad government's alleged use of chemical weapons and Washington's 2003 intervention in Iraq following U.S. accusations that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's government had weapons of mass destruction.