Syria Chemical Weapons: Hillary Clinton Tells Assad US Could Invade if He Uses Sarin Gas

Impact

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Syria that the United States would intervene in the country's ongoing civil war if the Assad regime uses chemical weapons against its own people, reported WaPo

“This is a red line for the United States,” Hillary said. “I'm not going to telegraph in any specifics what we would do in the event of credible evidence that the Assad regime has resorted to using chemical weapons against their own people. But suffice to say we are certainly planning to take action,” she warned. 

Meanwhile, the United Nations announced that it is withdrawing "all non-essential international staff" from the country because of "a deteriorating security situation in Syria amid increasingly brutal warfare between the government of President Bashar al-Assad and rebel forces." U.N. regional humanitarian coordinator for Syria, Radhouane Nouicer, said up to 25 out of 100 international staffers could leave by the end of the week. 

Though the Obama administration keeps opposing direct military intervention, the possible "gassing of civilians" would change the United States' mind as such chemical weapons threaten not only the Syrian people but also regional U.S. allies — such as Turkey.