Syrian Gov't Allegedly Attacks Own Citizens - What Does US President Obama Have To Say? [VIDEO & REPORT]

By Jobs & Hire Staff Reporter | Aug 23, 2013 09:03 AM EDT

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"Very troublesome!" addressed President Obama on the issue that the Syrian government under the tutelage of President Bashar al-Assad had allegedly attacked its own citizens with chemical weapons recently, uttering that the incident can threaten the United States "core national interests" as well.

The US president expressed his thoughts about the conflict in Syria for the first time through a CNN taped interview.

The conflict between the Syrian government and its citizens "is something that is going to require America's attention and hopefully the entire international community's attention," Obama said.

President Obama mentioned that the US is still contemplating on its response to the incident, adding the his administration is still investigating on the reported chemical attacks, and the various media material circulating the web as of late.

Obama told CNN anchor Chris Cuomo during the interview that he is not at liberty to discuss about this issue yet, and he is cautiously weighing out the short and long-term implications of the conflict to the United States.

"We remain the one indispensable nation... There's a reason why, when you listen to what's happened around Egypt and Syria, that everybody asks what the U.S. is doing. It's because the United States continues to be the one country that people expect can do more than just simply protect their borders," he remarked.

Additionally, the US president also presented his personal opinion that just because the US lawmakers and other opposition groups are being pressured for immediate action, doesn't mean that the nation has to get involved in the issue right away."We have to think through strategically what's going to be in our long-term national interests, even as we work cooperatively internationally to do everything we can to put pressure on those who would kill innocent civilians."

"Jumping into stuff that does not turn out well gets us mired in very difficult situations, can result in us being drawn into very expensive, difficult, costly interventions that actually breed more resentment in the region," Obama added.

Meanwhile, despite all of the overwhelming evidences presented in the media, the Syrian government denounces rumors that it was responsible for the use of chemical weapons.

State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki commented on the issue saying, "If these reports are true, it would be a flagrant use of chemical weapons by the regime. The president will consider his options and discuss it with his national security team."

On the other hand, the Russian foreign ministry urged the Syrian government and its opposition leaders to enable weapons inspectors to access and investigate on the alleged chemical attack in certain suburban areas of Damascus.

Reuters claimed that several Syrian activists are currently smuggling tissue samples from the victims of the attack to back their claim against the government.

Consequently, a foreign ministry spokesperson evoked that rebels may have already deployed the chemical weapons to strategically shift the blame to the Syrian government.

According to the ministry the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Secretary of State John Kerry had come into terms in conducting an impartial investigation as soon as possible.

In the ministry's statement on Friday, it acknowledged that Russia has already called the attention of the Syrian government to cooperate with the UN chemical weapons inspectors. "The task now for the opposition is to provide secure access to the proposed site of the incident. We also expect constructive progress from the opposition in regard to the early convening of an international conference on the political settlement of the Syrian crisis."

However, several videos posted Syrian activists on YouTube showing children suffering from breathing problems and are being rinsed with water by medical personnel seem to be inconsistent with the effects the chemical weapons of the Syrian government are capable of, commented Managing Director of UK-based security consultancy Strongpoint Security Dan Kaszeta, who has worked for the US government and military's chemical, biological, and nuclear division for more than 20 years.

Contrariwise, UK's Ministry of Defense former commander of the chemical, biological, and nuclear counterterrorism unit Hamish de Bretton-Gordon opined that the absence of other symptoms Syrian government's chemical weapons are capable of yielding may be only possible if the attacks were carried out in low doses.

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