French President Francois Hollande, who appears determined to launch imminent strikes on Syria, is hamstrung by the United States – which has delayed taking action – and growing domestic opposition to military intervention.
Hollande, who unilaterally intervened in Mali to prevent Islamists from proceeding south towards the country’s capital, has repeatedly voiced his determination to “punish” President Bashar al-Assad’s regime for alleged chemical weapons attacks on August 21.
France has been catapulted to the status of Washington’s main ally in the Syria crisis after the British parliament in a shock move rejected plans for military action mooted by Washington.
But Paris risks being seen as the “trailer” to the American vehicle in case of an intervention, former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon warned over the weekend.
He said France should act “responsibly” and not follow anyone into an attack “even if they are our friends and allies, the Americans.”
Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad on Sunday branded the French government as “irresponsible” and accused Hollande and foreign minister Laurent Fabius of duping “the French people to justify the failed policies against Syria.”
But a French government source said the government would soon declassify and make public secret documents which showed that Damascus had stockpiled sarin, mustard gas and other chemical agents.
The Journal du Dimanche newspaper said Damascus’s arsenal exceeded 1,000 tonnes of chemical agents, some of which had been stored for nearly three decades.
“If the United States decides not to intervene, it’s clear that France cannot go it alone because there has to be a coalition to ensure legitimacy,” said Elisabeth Guigou, the head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee and a member of Hollande’s Socialist party.
But a French source close to the case voiced concern over putting off action for too long.
“The more the disciplinary action is delayed after August 21 (the date of the alleged attack), the more it risks being less effective on a political and military level,” the source said.
“We are ready, the targets have been identified, but it is clear that we have to follow the tempo of the Americans,” a military source said.
Kerry pushes Congress on Syria action
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday spearheaded a drive to convince Congress to approve a military strike on Syria, saying Washington has proof the regime used Sarin gas.
Picking up on remarks Saturday by President Barack Obama, Kerry urged lawmakers to approve punitive military action, warning that the world cannot turn a blind eye to chemical arms.
Hair and blood samples from the emergency workers who rushed to the scene of last month’s attack in Damascus and given independently to the United States have shown signs of the powerful sarin nerve gas, Kerry told US television channels.
“In the last 24 hours, we have learned through samples that were provided to the United States and that have now been tested from first responders in East Damascus, (that) hair samples and blood samples have tested positive for signatures of sarin,” Kerry told NBC’s Meet the Press.
“Each day that goes by, this case is even stronger. We know that the regime ordered this attack. We know they prepared for it. We know where the rockets came from,” he added on CNN.
Kerry blitzed the Sunday morning television talk shows upping the momentum in his drive to build the case for US military strikes.
The ex-senator urged his former colleagues in Congress to give President Barack Obama a green light for strikes against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.