The reported death of more than 1,000 people on the outskirts of the Syrian capital, Damascus, as a result of bombardments by missiles filled with toxic chemicals has put the issue of whether the West should intervene militarily in the Syrian conflict back on the political agenda. In response, the US president, Barack Obama, and other Western leaders have indicated that there should be resolute action taken against those found to be responsible. One of the difficulties that they face, however, is in proving conclusively that the regime of Bashar alAssad was responsible. Others include the considerable political opposition within the US and Europe to any form of military intervention, and the operational challenges of any such intervention.
The attack on August 21st came only two days after the arrival in Damascus of a team of UN inspectors who were preparing to visit three sites where previous suspected chemical weapons incidents had been reported. The agreement on the terms of the UN inspection had taken several months to conclude. The mission had been cleared by the Syrian government to visit Khan alAssal, near Aleppo, where one of the first chemical incidents had been reported in March (and blamed by the government on rebels), as well as two other undisclosed sites. The inspectors would not be permitted to enter areas where the Syrian army was conducting operations, and its mandate would be restricted to certifying if chemical agents had been used and identifying what type of chemicals were involved; it would not be authorised to state which party might have used them.