Assad Reportedly Open To Chemical Weapons Deal

By Ben Armbruster

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In the interview, Assad made a number of astonishing statements. He admitted that his forces had bombarded the area of the recent chemical attack after it had taken place, but denied it was meant to cover up any evidence. “How could bombardment cover the evidence? It technically doesn’t work. … This is stupid to be saying. This is very stupid,” Assad told Rose...while Assad denied that his forces even have chemical weapons and said “we are against any WMD,” he seemed to suggest that their use could be justified in certain circumstances. “You use it when you’re in a desperate situation,” Assad said, trying to explain that his forces could not have possibly launched the attack because they aren’t in a desperate situation.

Assad later argued that he and his forces weren’t responsible for the Aug. 21 chemical attack just outside Damascus, claiming that the rebels blew up their own chemical weapons stockpile “by mistake.”

“They have stockpiles, and they exploded because of the bombardment,” he said. “What if they used the missile by coincidence, attacked themselves by mistake?” Watch the clips from the interview:

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“The evidence concerning the type of rockets and launchers used in these attacks strongly suggests that these are weapon systems known and documented to be only in the possession of, and used by, Syrian government armed forces,” Human Rights Watch said.

Meanwhile, in response to the Kerry-Russian plan, the House and Senate are delaying their respective votes on resolutions authorizing President Obama to attack Syria in response to the alleged chemical weapons use. Politico reports that a group of Senators have offered a plan that “would call for the United Nations to pass a resolution asserting that Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria used chemical weapons in the country’s ongoing civil war. A UN team would be required to remove the chemical weapons within a specified timeframe. If the weapons were unable to be removed within that timetable, then the United States would be authorized to use military force against the country, the source said Tuesday. The timeline is still being hammered out by the group.”

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http://thinkprogress.org/security/2013/09/10/2596351/assad-reportedly-open-chemical-weapons-deal/