Beyond US strikes, signs of intensifying UN diplomacy on Syria
Obama administration officials have said that the goal of military action in Syria would be to uphold the universal prohibition of chemical weapons and not regime change, citing that the conflict must be resolved politically.
Even amid mounting signs the US will soon conduct strikes in Syria, the White House made clear Tuesday that the purpose of the intervention would be limited and narrow, to uphold the universal prohibition on the use of chemical weapons. There were also signs of intensifying UN diplomacy behind the scenes to make way for a Syria peace conference in Geneva this fall.
“I want to make clear that the options that we are considering are not about regime change,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told journalists at a White House press conference Tuesday. “They are about responding to a clear violation of an international standard that prohibits the use of chemical weapons.”
While “it is our firm conviction that Syria’s future cannot include Assad in power,” Carney continued, “this deliberation and the actions that we are contemplating are not about regime change.”
“We believe…that resolution of this conflict has to come through political negotiation and settlement,” Carney said.
