In the same pickle?_其他_趣味英语-查字典英语网

In the same pickle?

The latest U.S. intelligence assessment, which meshes with similar British and French reckonings, isn’t tantamount to proof, Miguel Rodriguez, the director of the White House office of legislative affairs, told Congress in a letter Thursday. The Administration, he added, is “pressing for a comprehensive United Nations investigation that can credibly evaluate the evidence and establish what took place.”

Syrian officials denied Friday that their government has used chemical weapons. In Damascus, a government official told the Associated Press that Syria “did not and will not use chemical weapons even if it had them.” He accused rebel forces of using them in a March attack outside the northern city of Aleppo. Sharif Shehadeh, a Syrian lawmaker, said the Syrian army “can win the war with traditional weapons” and doesn’t need chemical weapons.

“We need to know the full story,” Hagel told reporters in the Persian Gulf emirate of Abu Dhabi, “and get it right.” He added that “any use of chemical weapons in Syria would very likely have been originated with the Assad regime.”

But despite such nuance, some lawmakers were ready for action. They declared that the Syrian government has now crossed a threshold set by President Obama. “It is clear that red lines have been crossed,” Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., chairman of the intelligence committee. “Action must be taken to prevent larger-scale use.”