InfoAnda - Obama warns Assad U.S. could act |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Singapore MP set on fire in attack by 70-yr-old | 11 January 2009
Redbox pulls grisly Brittany Murphy movie image | | 24 December 2009
Michael Buble defeats Young Jeezy's Hustlerz Ambition | | 29 December 2011

Arab world condemns Israeli attack on Gaza | 28 December 2008

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Obama warns Assad U.S. could act |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Social Pulse Business Video The Freeland File Aerospace & Defense Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Reuters Investigates Decoder Politics Politics Home Election 2012 Campaign Polling Political Punchlines Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Tech Tonic Social Pulse Opinion Money Money Home Tax Break Lipper Awards 2012 Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik James Saft Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Money Clip Investing 201 Life Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Video Reuters TV Reuters News Article Comments (0) Slideshow Video Pictures Editor's choice Our best photos from the last 24 hours. Slideshow Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Dental health linked to dementia risk: study 20 Aug 2012 Ethiopian strongman Meles dies abroad 3:35am EDT Romney battles Obama for cash advantage in election | 12:30am EDT Nearly half of US doctors struggle with burnout: study 2:12am EDT U.S. Army battling racists within its own ranks 1:01am EDT Discussed 138 Obama’s lead over Romney grows despite voters’ pessimism 122 Romney to announce vice presidential choice Saturday 94 Analysis: Are Israelis tough enough for a long war with Iran? Sponsored Links Pictures Reuters Photojournalism Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption Seeing double A look at the world of twins. Slideshow Suicides in China A look at attempted suicides in China and their aftermath. Slideshow Obama warns Assad U.S. could act Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Japanese TV journalist killed in Aleppo gunfight Mon, Aug 20 2012 Russia, China warn West on Syria after Obama threats 3:34am EDT Obama warns of military action in Syria over chemical arms Mon, Aug 20 2012 Free Syrian Army bans abuses, party politics Mon, Aug 20 2012 Analysis & Opinion Risk spills over in Middle East President Obamaâ€™s imbalanced view on journalism Related Topics World » United Nations » Syria » Related Video Obama: 'soft landing' for Assad unlikely Mon, Aug 20 2012 U.N. monitors leave Syria 1 of 8. A man cries near the graves of his two children killed during a recent Syrian Air Force air strike in Azaz, some 47 km (29 miles) north of Aleppo, August 20, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Youssef Boudlal By Matt Spetalnick and Tom Perry WASHINGTON/BEIRUT | Tue Aug 21, 2012 2:44am EDT WASHINGTON/BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S. forces could move against Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, President Barack Obama warned, notably if he deploys his chemical weapons against rebels trying to overthrow him. In some of his strongest language yet on Syria, on a day when U.N. observers pulled out after a fruitless bid for peace and Assad's forces mounted new attacks, the U.S. leader said Assad faced "enormous consequences" if he crossed a "red line" of even moving unconventional weapons in a threatening manner. Seeking re-election in November, Obama noted that he had refrained "at this point" from ordering U.S. military engagement in Syria. But when he was asked at a White House news conference whether he might deploy forces, for example to secure Syrian chemical and biological weapons, he said his view could change. "We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized," Obama said. "That would change my calculus." Faced with a complex and explosive conflict at the heart of the Middle East, and with resolute support for Assad from Iran and from Russia and China at the United Nations, Washington and its Western allies have shown little appetite for more than hands-off help for the rebels, in contrast to their attacks on Libya's Muammar Gaddafi last year. Obama's comments, however, raised the prospect of some change, under certain conditions. Syria last month acknowledged for the first time that it had chemical and biological weapons and said it could use them if foreign countries intervened. The threat drew strong warnings from Washington and its allies, although it is not clear how the Syrian armed forces might use such weapons in urban warfare. "We cannot have a situation where chemical or biological weapons are falling into the hands of the wrong people," Obama told the impromptu news conference on Monday. He acknowledged he was not "absolutely confident" the stockpile was secure. CALL TO QUIT Calling again for Assad to step aside to allow a democratic transition but conceding that prospects for a "soft landing" to the conflict were dim, Obama said the weapons worried not only Washington but also its allies in the region, including Israel. Obama has been reluctant to get the United States involved in another war in the Middle East, and refuses to arm rebels fighting a 17-month uprising against Assad, partly out of concern that some of those fighting against the Iranian-backed president are Islamist radicals equally hostile to the West. However, Obama said, Assad should quit: "The international community has sent a clear message that rather than drag his country into civil war, he should move in the direction of a political transition," Obama said. "But at this point, the likelihood of a soft landing seems pretty distant." When asked whether he envisioned the possibility of using U.S. forces at least to safeguard Syria's chemical arsenal, he said: "We're monitoring that situation very carefully. We have put together a range of contingency plans." The U.S.-based Global Security website says there are four suspected chemical weapons sites in Syria producing the nerve agents VX, sarin and tabun. It does not cite its sources. OBSERVERS Fighting raged on in Syria, killing some 120 people on Monday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. U.N. military observers left Damascus after a four-month mission during which they became helpless spectators of the conflict, and activists said government forces launched air strikes near the capital that killed two dozen people. A Japanese woman journalist died of wounds sustained in Aleppo, a Syrian activist group said in a statement. The U.N. representatives blamed both sides for the failure of a truce brokered by outgoing special envoy Kofi Annan to hold: "Our mission failed because the two sides did not abide by their commitments," said one uniformed observer, who declined to be named, before seven United Nations cars left a Damascus hotel carrying some of the last members of a mission once 300 strong. Rebel fighters have complained that foreign powers have supplied neither the quantity or quality of weaponry they need to defeat Assad, such as anti-aircraft missiles. While outgunned by Assad's forces, rebels still managed to seize control of districts in Damascus and Aleppo last month, as well as several border crossings and parts of the north, before the army counter-attacked in Syria's two main cities. With diplomatic efforts to end the war stymied by divisions between world powers and regional rivalries, Syria faces the prospect of a prolonged conflict that increasingly sets a mainly Sunni Muslim opposition against Assad's Alawite minority. (Additional reporting by Marwan Makdesi in Damascus, Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman; Ece Tokasabay in Istanbul, Thomas Grove in Moscow, John Irish in Paris, Dominic Evans in Beirut and Alister Bull in Washington; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Louise Ireland) World United Nations Syria Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use AdChoices Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Tuesday, 21 August 2012
Analysis: Afghanistan's peace hopes may rest on Taliban captive |
Obama deeply concerned over Afghan insider attacks |
Car bomb kills eight near Turkey's border with Syria |
Court seen reinstating Romanian president in referendum ruling |
Malta's former prime minster Dom Mintoff dies at 96 |
Seven arrested over attack on East Jerusalem Arab |
U.S. seizes $150 million from Lebanese bank in laundering scheme |
Britain's best bet to handle Assange: sit and wait |
Apple becomes most valuable company of all time |
Google list of paid bloggers not sufficient, judge says |
Judge rejects Facebook settlement over ad feature |
Shoparoo app helps raise money for schools |
Pioneering comedian Phyllis Diller dies at age 95 |
Rihanna admits she still loves Chris Brown |
Fox promotes broadcast TV executive Kevin Reilly |
Rosie O'Donnell says lucky to be here after heart attack |
Happily Divorced actress Tichina Arnold is wed |
Top U.S. general's aircraft damaged by rockets in Afghanistan |
Ethiopian strongman Meles dies abroad |
Exclusive: Iran looks to Armenia to skirt bank sanctions |
Obama warns Assad U.S. could act |
Analysis: Afghanistan's peace hopes may rest on Taliban captive |
Kurdish militant group says not behind Turkey bomb |
Iran unveils new missile, other weapons |
Gunfire outside Yemeni intelligence HQ in Aden |
Lonmin says sacking striking miners could lead to more violence |
Japan hints at economic action in South Korea island feud |
Samsung to invest $4 billion in U.S. plant to make more mobile chips |
Apple's market value exceeds Microsoft's during 1999 bubble |
Apple, Samsung CEOs talk but no trial settlement reached |
Facebook director Thiel sold 20 million shares after lockup |
Ailing startup OnLive slashes staff, seeks more funding |
Clues sought in suicide of film director Tony Scott |
Pioneering comedian Phyllis Diller dies at age 95 |
Michael J. Fox to star in TV comedy as dad with Parkinson's |
San Francisco flower power singer Scott McKenzie dead at 73 |
Fox studio to distribute Dreamworks Animation films |
Iran unveils new missile, starts air defense site |
Four dead in Lebanon clashes that echo Syria conflict |
U.S., Japan follow EU, slam Argentine protectionism at WTO |
Assange asylum seen as travesty of justice in Sweden |
Ukraine stays extradition of Putin murder plot suspect |
Three religions meet in suburban Paris prayer space |
Hackers target website of Russian court that jailed Pussy Riot |
Infosys rises after whistleblower lawsuit dismissed |
India cracks down on Internet after communal violence |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01