Intelligence reports on the Syrian chemical attack far from prove that President Bashar al-Assad was responsible, US officials said last night. One admitted the evidence was ‘not a slam dunk’ - a pointed reference to language used by the CIA to describe intelligence on weapons of mass destruction ahead of the Iraq war. Despite those doubts, United States is expected to go it alone to launch a limited airstrike on Syria. Military intervention: A US Air Force plane lands at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey yesterday. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said the inspection team in Syria is expected to complete its work by today
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Phrase 'slam dunk' is a reference to CIA language used ahead of Iraq war
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Despite doubts, US is still expected to go alone to launch limited airstrike
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Obama prepared to go ahead despite rejection of military action by Britain
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Russia is sending an anti- submarine battleship and a missile cruiser to the eastern Mediterranean in a move described as ‘gunboat diplomacy’ over Syria. Experts say the bolstering of Moscow’s naval presence could potentially give the Assad regime early warning of Western submarine cruise missile launches, or jam radars and navigation systems.
On Wednesday, President Obama declared that the @placeholder regime was responsible for the chemical attack.
This means a possible series of @placeholder cruise missile strikes aimed at crippling Assad’s military infrastructure could hit newly hidden supplies of chemical weapons, accidentally triggering another attack.