White House: Chemical attack in Syria requires a response, says regime change not a goal

WASHINGTON – The White House is making a legal argument for undertaking a military response to the use of chemical weapons against civilians in Syria, but says any action taken against the Syrian regime is not intended to depose Syrian President Bashar Assad.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the United States and 188 other nations are signatories to a chemical weapons convention opposing the use of such weapons. He says those countries have a stake in ensuring that international norms must be respected. Carney says that there must be a response to a clear violation of those norms.

But Carney says, quote, “The options we are considering are not about regime change.”

He says a change in Syria’s leadership must occur through political negotiations.