Democratic U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri says officials are considering the best response to evidence that the Syrian government likely used chemical weapons against its own people.
As a guest on the CBS Sunday morning talk show Face the Nation, McCaskill said further complicating the situation is that it’s not clear who ordered the alleged use of chemical weapons.
“Was this a rouge guy that decided to do this, or was this truly a decision by the government in Syria? So that’s why we have to know before we base our decision just on that” McCaskill said.
McCaskill said officials are exploring humanitarian options to help the King of Jordan deal with a flood of refugees crossing his border with Syria which could uproot the regime of the valued U.S. ally.
She added that officials are working out possible “surgical” responses that won’t make the problem worse.
And with the situation so fluid in Syria, McCaskill said putting boots on the ground should only be done with extreme caution.
“So, I don’t think you ever want to say absolutely not. Obviously, we don’t want to do that unless it’s absolutely necessary,” McCaskill said.
Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia joined McCaskill on the Sunday morning talk show and disagreed with her assessment.
Chambliss said a recently defected Syrian general has confirmed that an order did come from the Assad regime. Chambliss said sending troops should be taken off the table.
Both McCaskill and Chambliss also said there continues to be no evidence that the two men who allegedly bombed the Boston Marathon were part of a larger terrorist organization.
