Comments from Secretary of State John Kerry:

  • US will not repeat Iraq experience in intelligence on Syria
  • Syrian regime elements were in area before chemical weapons attack and were told to wear protective masks
  • Rockets involved in Aug 21 attack in Syria came only from government sites
  • US will act on its own timeline
  • Anything US may do will not resemble Iraq, Afghanistan or even Libya
  • Any action will not be open ended, US will not assume responsibility for Syria civil war

The intelligence report:

  • Three days before chemical attack, US collected ‘streams of human, signals and geospacial intelligence’ indicating plans for an attack
  • Report says government ‘assess with high confidence’ that Syrian government used ‘nerve agent’ in Aug 21 attack
  • US intercepted communications of ‘a senior official intimately familiar with the offensive’ confirming attack