Mattis: Pentagon ready to provide military options for Syria

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says Wednesday the Pentagon is ready to provide options for a Syria strike in response to a suspected chemical attack, but notes the US and its allies are still gathering information.

“We are still assessing the intelligence, ourselves and our allies, we are still working on this,” Mattis tells reporters when asked if he had seen enough evidence to blame President Bashar Assad’s regime for the alleged chemical attack in Douma.

“We stand ready to provide military options, if they’re appropriate, as the president determined.”

US President Donald Trump vowed on Twitter that missiles would be launched at Syria following Saturday’s alleged chemical attack, all but guaranteeing a military strike against Assad’s regime.

— AFP