US military drawing up options should Syria use chemical weapons

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America's top general on Saturday said he was involved in "routine dialogue" with President Donald Trump about military options should Syria ignore US warnings against using chemical weapons in an expected assault on the enclave of Idlib.

Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said no decision had been made by the United States to employ military force in response to a future chemical attack in Syria.

"But we are in a dialogue, a routine dialogue, with the president to make sure he knows where we are with regard to planning in the event that chemical weapons are used," he told reporters during a trip to India.

Civil defense members work at a site hit by airstrikes in the rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria, Feb. 7, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Dunford later added: "He expects us to have military options and we have provided updates to him on the development of those military options."

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has massed his army and allied forces on the front lines in the northwest, and Russian planes have joined his bombardment of rebels there, in a prelude to a widely expected assault.

This week, a top US envoy said there was "lots of evidence" that chemical weapons were being prepared by Syrian government forces in Idlib.

The White House has warned that the United States and its allies would respond "swiftly and vigorously" if government forces used chemical weapons in Idlib. President Donald Trump has twice bombed Syria over its alleged use of chemical weapons, in April 2017 and April 2018.

Dunford did not say, one way or the other, what he expected Trump to do should Syria use chemical weapons again.

Dunford declined to comment on US intelligence about the possible Syrian preparations of chemical agents.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L), Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (C) and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (R) speak to media after the trilateral summit in Tehran on Sept. 7, 2018. /VCG Photo

Idlib is the insurgents' only remaining major stronghold and a government offensive could be the last decisive battle in a war that has killed more than half a million people and forced 11 million to flee their homes.

The presidents of Turkey, Iran and Russia on Friday failed to agree on a ceasefire that would forestall an offensive.

Source(s): Reuters