The United States The United States will soon share evidence that Syria unleashed chemical weapons on its own people, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told the BBC on Tuesday. The Pentagon chief, on a tour of Southeast Asia, reiterated that US forces stood ready to act at a moment's notice, amid mounting speculation the United States, France and Britain are poised to stage military action against the Syrian regime. "Syria used chemical weapons against its own people," Hagel said in the interview. "Now, we'll have more information and more intelligence here very shortly to present. I think the Secretary (of State John Kerry) noted that yesterday," he said in Brunei, where is attending a gathering of regional defense ministers. After speaking to his British and French counterparts earlier Tuesday, Hagel said US allies and most of the world believed President Bashar al-Assad's regime was behind the deadly chemical weapons attack last week on the outskirts of Damascus. "I think most of our allies, most of our partners, most of the international community that we've talked (to) -- and we have reached out to many -- have little doubt that the most base, human, international humanitarian standard was violated in using chemical weapons against their own people," he said. He said there was no longer a question about who staged the chemical assault, which the opposition says killed 1,300 people. "I think the intelligence will conclude that it wasn't the rebels who used it, and there'll probably be pretty good intelligence to show ...that the Syria government was responsible," he said. The Pentagon chief said the US military was prepared to take action if called upon and Obama had reviewed options presented to him by commanders. "We are prepared. We have moved assets in place to be able to fulfill and comply with whatever option the president wishes to take," he said. "We are ready to go, like that." Israel Israel will strike back "fiercely" if Syria attacks the Jewish state, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday. "The State of Israel is prepared for every scenario," he said following consultations on the crisis in Syria. "We are not part of the civil war in Syria, but if we detect any attempt to hurt us, we will react, and react fiercely." Netanyahu's remarks came as Syria vowed to defend itself if the United States and its allies attacked the Assad regime, which allegedly used chemical weapons against its own citizens last week. Meanwhile, Israelis were rushing to replace old gas masks. A spokeswoman for the Israel Postal Service, which distributes the masks, said there has been a 300 percent increase in delivery orders in recent days. Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz on Monday called the notion of Assad attacking Israel "insane". Earlier, Israel's president called on the United Nations to appoint the Arab League to set up a temporary government in Syria to stop the bloodshed. Shimon Peres' comments mark the highest-profile Israeli call for international intervention in neighboring Syria. Israel has been careful to stay on the sidelines of Syria's civil war, which has killed more than 100,000. Peres said the international community must first remove all chemical weapons from Syria so they cannot be used again. Peres said "foreigners will not understand what is going on in Syria" so the UN should task the Arab League with setting up a government. France French President Francois Hollande decided to increase France's military aid to the Syrian opposition. While Speaking Tuesday at a conference with France's ambassadors, Hollande said France is prepared to take action against those responsible for gassing people in Syria, reported AP. The President also expressed France's willingness to "punish those who took the heinous decision to gas innocents" in Syria last week." Earlier, a French diplomatic source said that France "will not shirk its responsibilities" in response to a suspected chemical attack in Damascus by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The source said that, in France's view, there was no doubt Syrian forces were behind last week's attack. "The use of chemical weapons, which has been going on for several months now and has now been used for the first time massively, is unacceptable," the source said. "France will not shirk its responsibilities," the source added. Hollande is one of Assad's firmest critics. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said last week that the international community would need to respond with force if allegations that Assad's forces were behind the chemical attack proved true. Russia A Russian cargo plane carrying food aid for Syria landed in the Mediterranean city of Latakia on Tuesday to evacuate Russians wanting to leave the conflict-torn country, the emergencies ministry said. The Ilyushin-76 plane belonging to the Russian emergencies ministry landed in the Syrian port city with a cargo of 20 tons of humanitarian aid, largely conserves and sugar, emergencies ministry spokeswoman Irina Rossius said. On the return flight to Russia later Tuesday, the plane would take 180 citizens of ex-Soviet states wanting to leave Syria including 100 Russians, she added, quoted by Russian news agencies. "On the way back, the plane will take Russians and citizens of ex-Soviet states who have made clear a desire to leave the country," she said. The flight comes as expectations grow of Western military action against President Bashar al-Assad's regime over claims it used chemical weapons in an attack outside the Syrian capital last week. Russia has questioned the claims and warned such military action will have catastrophic consequences. United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday said he would recall lawmakers from their summer break to debate Thursday the British response to an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria. Cameron said in a message posted on his Twitter page: "There'll be a clear Govt motion & vote on UK response to chemical weapons attacks." http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/80102.aspx
