House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., walks to a meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington as he and national intelligence advisers prepare to update House members on Syria’s alleged use of poisonous gas in its ongoing civil war in this April 26, 2013, file photo. On a talk show Sunday, April 28, 2013, Rogers said he’s worried about chemical weapons in Syria falling into the wrong hands after President Bashar Assad is driven from power.WASHINGTON – Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons could be a greater threat after that nation’s president leaves power and could end up targeting Americans at home, lawmakers warned Sunday as they considered a U.S. response that stops short of sending military forces there.
U.S. officials last week declared that the Syrian government probably had used chemical weapons twice in March, newly provocative acts in the 2-year civil war that has killed more than 70,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands more. The U.S. assessment followed similar conclusions from Britain, France, Israel and Qatar – key allies eager for a more aggressive response to the Syrian conflict.
President Barack Obama has said Syria’s likely action – or the transfer of President Bashar Assad’s stockpiles to terrorists – would cross a “red line” that would compel the United States to act.
Lawmakers sought to remind viewers on Sunday news programs of Obama’s declaration while discouraging a U.S. foothold on the ground there.
“The president has laid down the line, and it can’t be a dotted line. It can’t be anything other than a red line,” said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich. “And more than just Syria, Iran is paying attention to this. North Korea is paying attention to this.”