THE United States (U.S.) Government has asserted that it has “incontrovertible” and “reams of evidence” to support its claim that the Syrian Government used chemical weapons against its people, hundreds of whom have died.

In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle  yesterday, the newly accredited Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown, Mr. Bryan Hunt, said a military strike on Syria is “justified”, as the Syrian Government has, clearly, violated the international law agreed to since 1925, banning the use of chemical weapons.
He added that “incontrovertible” evidence on the chemical weapons use by Syria has been provided to the international community by the U.S. Government.
Hunt insisted that the action of the Syrian Government “cannot be tolerated” and that the U.S. Government cannot sit idly by and allow the current situation.
Responding to the issue of the United Nations inspection team, the diplomat said it is only mandated to determine if chemical weapons were used and not who used them.
However, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, yesterday, urged leaders at the Group of 20 (G20) Summit, in St. Petersburg, Russia, to explore ways of avoiding further militarisation of the conflict in Syria and to revitalise the search for a political settlement, warning that “tragic consequences” could follow military action.
Mr. Ban, who has been pushing for a political solution during the summit, said the international community must renew efforts to convene the Geneva Conference, which would bring all parties to the negotiating table.
He added that a viable political outcome would see the full implementation of the Geneva Communiqué.
Key steps
Issued after a meeting of the Action Group for Syria in June 2012, the document lays out key steps in a process to end the violence. Among others, it calls for the establishment of a transitional governing body, comprising members of the present Government and the Opposition and other groups, as part of agreed principles and guidelines for a Syrian-led political transition, with full executive powers.
According to a Reuters report, U.S. President Barack Obama, yesterday, too, resisted pressure to abandon plans for air strikes against Syria and enlisted the support of 10 fellow leaders for a “strong” response to a chemical weapons attack.
Obama refused to blink after Russian President Vladimir Putin led a campaign to talk him out of military intervention at a two-day summit of the Group of Twenty (G20) developed and developing economies in St. Petersburg.
Obama persuaded 10 other G20 nations to join the U.S. in signing a statement calling for a strong international response, although it fell short of supporting military strikes, underscoring the deep disagreements that dominated the summit.
Leaders of the G20, which accounts for 90 percent of the world economy and two-thirds of its population, put aside their differences to unite behind a call for growth and jobs and agreed the global economy was on the mend but not out of crisis.