{"id":58961,"date":"2018-03-11T16:38:44","date_gmt":"2018-03-11T16:38:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/03\/11\/pentagon-chief-warns-syrian-forces-on-use-of-chemical-weapons\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T10:47:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:47:17","slug":"pentagon-chief-warns-syrian-forces-on-use-of-chemical-weapons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/03\/11\/pentagon-chief-warns-syrian-forces-on-use-of-chemical-weapons\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon chief warns Syrian forces on use of chemical weapons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MUSCAT, Oman \u2014 U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Sunday warned the Syrian government not to use chemical weapons in its civil war<\/a> and said the Trump administration has made it clear that it would be \u201cvery unwise\u201d to use gas in attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mattis told reporters traveling with him to the Mideast that he was disturbed by reports of civilian casualties<\/a> from bombings by Syrian President Bashar Assad\u2019s forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight now we\u2019re getting reports \u2014 I don\u2019t have evidence that I can show you \u2014 but I\u2019m aware of the reports of chlorine gas use,\u201d he said before arriving Sunday in Oman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. responded militarily last year to reported Syrian government use of sarin gas<\/a>, and Mattis was asked whether the administration is now considering retaliating for chlorine gas use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to strictly define it. We have made it very clear that it would be very unwise to use gas\u201d as a weapon, Mattis said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the latest reports of Syrian government forces killing civilians in eastern Ghouta show that troops are \u201cat best indiscriminately\u201d attacking and \u201cat worst targeting hospitals. I don\u2019t know which it is, whether they\u2019re incompetent or whether they\u2019re committing illegal acts or both.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Washington, CIA director Mike Pompeo noted that President Donald Trump has said he will not tolerate chemical weapons attacks, but has not yet made a decision about the latest reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn this case, the intelligence community is working diligently to verify what happened there,\u201d Pompeo said in an interview on CBS\u2019 \u201cFace the Nation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen the pictures. You\u2019ve seen the pictures as well. We have a higher standard to make sure we understand precisely what took place, precisely who did it so that our response can meet the threat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, speaks during a news conference in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, March 10, 2018. Mekdad denied opposition charges that government forces used poison gas in their attacks on eastern Ghouta. Mekdad added that insurgents groups in the eastern Ghouta are preparing “to fabricate” more such attacks to blame the Syrian army. (SANA via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mattis said Russia, which intervened militarily in Syria to support the Assad government, could be complicit in the civilian casualties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEither Russia is incompetent or in cahoots with Assad,\u201d Mattis said. \u201cThere\u2019s an awful lot of reports about chlorine gas use or about symptoms that could be resulting from chlorine gas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t