REUTERS
A gas-masked activist in the Zamalka region of Damascus.
President Barack Obama called the apparent gassing of hundreds of Syrian civilians a "big event of grave concern" but stressed on Friday that he would not rush to embroil Americans in a costly new war.
As opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad braved the frontlines around Damascus to try and deliver tissue samples to U.N. inspectors from victims of Wednesday's poisoning, Obama brushed over an interviewer's reminder that he once called the use of chemical weapons a "red line" for U.S. action on Syria.
He played down the chances of Assad cooperating with a U.N. team that might, if given access soon, provide conclusive evidence of what happened. In any case, he would not react in haste to calls for U.S. intervention that would "mire" Americans in an undertaking that was counter to their long-term interests.
Noting budget constraints, problems of international law and a continuing U.S. casualty toll in Afghanistan, Obama told CNN:
"Sometimes what we've seen is that folks will call for immediate action, jumping into stuff that does not turn out well, gets us mired in very difficult situations, can result in us being drawn into very expensive, difficult, costly interventions that actually breed more resentment in the region.
"The United States continues to be the one country that people expect can do more than just simply protect their borders. But that does not mean that we have to get involved with everything immediately.
"We have to think through strategically what's going to be in our long-term national interests."
Asked about his comment - a year to the day before the poison fumes hit sleeping residents of rebel-held Damascus suburbs - that chemical weapons would be a red line for the United States, he replied: "If the U.S. goes in and attacks another country without a U.N. mandate and without clear evidence that can be presented, then there are questions in terms of whether international law supports it."
Russia and China have vetoed United Nations Security Council moves against Assad in the past and oppose military action.
INSPECTORS
International powers, including Moscow, have urged Assad to cooperate with a UN inspection team which arrived on Sunday to pursue earlier allegations of chemical weapons attacks and to give them access to affected areas before evidence deteriorates.
However, there was no public response from the Syrian government, whose forces have been pounding the region for days, making any mission by the international experts perilous - as well as potentially destroying evidence. Syria denies being responsible and has in the past accused rebels of using gas.
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