US military strike on Syria 'as early as today'
by: John Lyons, Middle East Correspondent
From: The Australian
August 29, 2013 12:00AM
BRITISH Prime Minister David Cameron will make the case to parliament for targeted military action to halt the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
Mr Cameron was briefed by his military chiefs yesterday after ordering parliament to be recalled from its summer recess as momentum builds for strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
After a telephone conversation with Barack Obama, Mr Cameron said Britain would seek UN Security Council backing for action to protect Syrian civilians by submitting a draft resolution later overnight (AEST).
Mr Cameron is expected to tell lawmakers in today's debate that he foresees targeted military strikes to "degrade" the regime's chemical weapons capability, and will urge them to support such action in a vote.
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Mr Cameron's office said he and the US President had no doubt Assad's government had used chemical weapons in Damascus on August 21, killing hundreds.
"Both leaders agreed that all the information available confirmed a chemical weapons attack had taken place, noting that even the Iranian President and Syrian regime had conceded this," Downing Street.
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Mr Cameron's office called his talks with Mr Obama "an opportunity for the PM to hear the latest US thinking on the issue and to set out the options being considered by the government". Senior officials in Washington told NBC news that strikes against targets in Syria could take place as early as today.
The Australian