US says reviewing all options on Syria
You cannot make reasoned decisions without doing
intense analysis and operational planning - Clinton:
US: The United States said Monday it has not ruled out any option to
bring about the departure of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, following
renewed speculation about a possible no-fly zone.
White House spokesman Jay Carney was asked about comments by US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Turkey that sparked a new round of
questions about a stepped-up Western role in the violence-wracked
country.
“The president and his team have ruled out no option as we try to
bring about, with all of our partners and with the Syrian people, the
diplomatic transition that is so desperately needed in Syria,” he said.
But Carney did not explicitly refer to a no-fly zone and insisted the
current US approach -- of aiding rebels with non-military supplies as
well as imposing sanctions on the regime -- was putting pressure on
Assad.
“We review all options as you would expect and will continue to do
so,” he said, in comments which did not seem to mark a new departure for
US policy.
On Saturday, Clinton was asked after talks with Turkish Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu whether operational planning being conducted by
Washington and its allies included a possible no-fly zone to protect
Syrian civilians. “The issues you posed in your question are exactly the
ones the minister and I agreed need greater in-depth analysis,” she said
in Istanbul. “It is one thing to talk about all kinds of potential
actions, but you cannot make reasoned decisions without doing intense
analysis and operational planning,” she added. State Department
spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Monday that the United States wanted to
work with the opposition to speed up the fall of Assad.
“In the context of that, the secretary spoke about operational
planning -- contingency planning -- that we are doing with the Turkish
government, looking at how we can support those on the ground who are
trying to hasten the day without ourselves making the suffering worse,”
Nuland told reporters.
Clinton, who has returned to Washington, will spend the week
consulting with additional countries about Syria, Nuland said.
Washington insists Assad must leave office as part of any solution to
the 17-month-old civil conflict in Syria, which has left more than
21,000 dead. But there appears to be little appetite in Western capitals
for another military intervention in the Middle East, even the
imposition of an aerial exclusion zone like that imposed in Libya by
NATO last year.
US military officers have warned that the imposition of a no-fly zone
could quickly escalate into a broader intervention, as it did in Libya.
The Pentagon on Monday said the Syrian regime was employing more air
power in its war with the rebels.
“We've seen a very troubling and despicable uptick in attacks from
the air, perpetrated by the Syrian regime,” Pentagon spokesman George
Little told reporters. AFP
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