Obama says no scenario to send U.S. troops to Syria

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. President Barack Obama says he does not foresee a scenario that would require sending U.S. troops to Syria, BBC News reported.

He reaffirmed that clear evidence that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons would be a "game changer", but that any response would not be rushed.

Earlier Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the U.S. was no longer ruling out arming the rebels.

Meanwhile, U.S. media reports are quoting unnamed U.S. officials as saying Israel has conducted an air strike in Syria. They say the attack probably happened on Thursday, May 2 or Friday, but Israeli aircraft did not enter Syrian airspace.

The reports say the target was likely to be an arms depot or a weapons shipment en route to Hezbollah in Lebanon. There has been no confirmation from the U.S. or Israeli governments.

Obama told reporters in Costa Rica on Friday that as a commander-in-chief he could rule nothing out "because circumstances change".

But he added he did not foresee a scenario in which "American boots on the ground in Syria" would be good for either America or Syria.

He also said he had already consulted with Middle Eastern leaders and they agreed with him. Obama reiterated that there was evidence that chemical weapons had been used in Syria, but that "we don't know when, where or how".

He stressed that if strong evidence was found it would be "a game changer for us" because "there is a possibility that it (weapons) lands in the hands of organizations like Hezbollah" in neighbouring Lebanon.

On Thursday, Hagel became the first senior U.S. official to state publicly that Washington was reconsidering its opposition to supplying weapons to rebel forces.

"Arming the rebels - that's an option," he told reporters. "You look at and rethink all options. It doesn't mean you do or you will. These are options that must be considered with the international community."

U.S. allies such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia are already providing weapons to various groups fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

The pressure to act has intensified in recent days after emerging evidence that Syria has used chemical weapons such as the nerve gas sarin.