U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday unclassified U.S. intelligence revealed that the Bashar al-Assad Syrian government is responsible for the chemical attack in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21, laying out concrete evidence in an effort to support a potential military strike in the coming days, Washington Post reported.
Kerry also urged American citizens to review the unclassified information themselves.
"Read for yourself, everyone, those listening, read for yourselves the evidence from thousands of sources," Kerry said.
In a 19-minute address, the secretary of state added that the findings suggested that the U.S. estimated at least 1,429 Syrians were killed in the attack last week, including at least 426 children.
"The American people are tired of war," Kerry said. "But fatigue does not absolve us of our responsibility." He said that "history would judge us all extraordinarily harshly" if the United States does not respond to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government.
Kerry's announcement came in the wake of a British Parliamentary vote against military intervention. Britain's parliament voted 285-272 against a proposal by Prime Minister David Cameron to undertake action against Assad's regime.
"It is very clear tonight that while the House has not passed a motion, it is clear to me that the British parliament, reflecting the views of the British people, does not want to see British military action - I get that and the government will act accordingly," Cameron said, according to Reuters.
U.S. officials said after the vote that the Obama administration is considering striking Syria without British, or backing from the U.N. Security Council. (Kerry's statement also reinforced this notion)
Caitlin Hayden, Obama's National Security Council spokeswoman, said the administration would continue consulting international partners but would make decisions based on "the best interests of the United States." The French and Australian governments have inclined their intentions to join the U.S.
The Syrian Civil War has killed over 100,000 people with over 1.7 million refugees displaced, according to UN estimates.The vast majority of refugees have escaped to Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, according to BBC News.
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