BICOM

International military leaders convened yesterday in Jordan to discuss the possible responses to last week’s apparent large-scale use of chemical weapons by President Assad’s forces in Syria.

Although few details have emerged of yesterday’s meeting, it was led by chairman of the United States’ joint chiefs of staff, General Martin Dempsey and his Jordanian counterpart. Head of the UK armed forces, General Sir Nicholas Houghton also attended the talks while the military chiefs of Germany, Canada, Italy, France, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are also thought to have been present. CNN quotes an unnamed US military official who would only say that the meeting discussed ways in which the Syrian conflict could impact regional security as a whole.

The apparent military planning took place as US Secretary of State John Kerry gave the clearest indication yet that the United States would lead military action against the Assad regime. In a statement, Kerry called the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government “undeniable” and described it as a “moral obscenity.” He said, “What we saw in Syria last week should shock the conscience of the world” and pledged “Make no mistake, President Obama believes there must be accountability for those who would use the world’s most heinous weapons against the world’s most vulnerable people.”

Syria is also thought to have been high on the agenda at high-level talks between Israeli and US officials in Washington yesterday. Although the talks are part of a regular series of meetings between political and military representatives from both countries, Haaretz says that yesterday’s talks dealt mostly with the repercussions of Assad’s deployment of chemical weapons. Israel’s delegation was led by National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror and also included senior defence and intelligence officials. They met with US National Security Adviser Susan Rice and White House, Pentagon and State Department officials.