Biological and Chemical Weapons

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday he reserved the right to resort to both diplomatic and military options to pressure Syrian President Bashar al-Assad but insisted that U.S. action alone would not be enough to resolve the...

(Adds Ban comment on chemical weapons inspections) * U.N. chief wants peace talks soon * Planned conference faces growing obstacles * Refugee numbers top 1.5 million. says U.N. By Darya Korsunskaya SOCHI, Russia, May 17 (Reuters) - A proposed...

(Corrects dates of alleged chemical weapons incidents in paragraph 16. The Homs allegations date to December and the Aleppo reports date to March. A previous version of this story reversed the months of the two incidents.) * U.N. chief wants peace...

* U.N. chief wants peace talks soon * Planned conference faces growing obstacles * Refugee numbers top 1.5 million. says U.N. By Darya Korsunskaya SOCHI, Russia, May 17 (Reuters) - France spelled out on Friday that it would oppose a peace conference...

* U.S., Turkish leaders seek to project united front on Syria * Obama says U.S. action alone not enough to solve Syria crisis * Russia says Iran should be part of Syria conference By Nick Tattersall and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) -...

WASHINGTON--President Obama on Thursday ruled out any unilateral U.S action in response to the alleged Syrian use of chemical weapons, further reducing the chance of any forceful response to the crossing of what Obama had described as a “red line.&...

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Thursday ruled out unilateral U.S. military action in Syria even if proof emerges that Syrian forces have used lethal chemical weapons. "This is … an international problem," Obama said at a White House news...

Like every other college-educated urban white person, I love The Onion. Its satire sometimes feels like everything that's left of the guiding light of civilization. Yet recently I’ve noticed stories on the Syrian civil war that very much embody...

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly condemned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces and praised the opposition on Wednesday, but a decline in support for the resolution suggested growing unease about extremism among Syria's...

The following is an abridged comment thread from http://www.facebook.com/edpagecourant. Ryan Sullivan: We need to sit this one out. We're damned if we intervene and we're damned if we don't. I think the last 10-plus years have taught us an important...

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly is set to vote on Wednesday on a draft resolution that condemns Syrian authorities and accepts the opposition Syrian National Coalition as party to a potential political transition. Russia, a close...

* Tokyo sarin attack provides hints for Syria investigation * Samples needed to prove use can fade within weeks * Western powers say evidence of use by Syria in mounting By Anthony Deutsch AMSTERDAM, May 15 (Reuters) - It took Tokyo police just...