Opponents to the action point out that at the time of the attack, the Syrian army was pushing the Al Qaeda fighters backwards with ease. It is also curious that Assad would launch a gas attack three days after UN investigators arrived to look into another previous attack. It is also curious that the attack occurred in a resicential neighborhood, near where the UN inspectors were staying and not in the nearby rebel camp. Opponents say that makes no sense.
Proponents say that Assad was just out to display his power, but they have not explained why the attack took place where it did. Both the United States government and that of the UK both claim it's irrefutable that Assad launched the attack and cited intelligence that could not be made public due to security concerns.
Secretary of State, John Kerry, has stated that it is almost irrefutable that Assad's forces were responsible for the attacks and that we are in the final stages of firming up the evidence to support it. UK and Israeli intelligence both point to Assad, also.
China and Russia are warning the US and the European nations, that they believe such actions would be catastrophic for the region. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Alexander Lukashevich stated, "Attempts to bypass the Security Council, once again to create artificial groundless excuses for a military intervention in the region are fraught with new suffering in Syria and catastrophic consequences for other countries of the Middle East and North Africa."
Lukashevich's comments is a reference to Libya, where the US and European allies made it possible for Al Qaeda to seize power in Libya and make inroads because of the weak Libyan government. Al Qaeda seized arms from Ghadaffi's bunkers and sent them to be used in uprisings in Mali and Algiers, where Americans have been killed.
The White House cancelled a meeting with Russians to discuss the Syrian crises but Putin did speak to David Cameron. Putin said there is no evidence that Assad was to blame for the attack. China issued a statement, through the official Chinese news agency, Xinhua, that western powers were rushing to place the blame before the UN investigators even get a chance to do their job.
Neither country made any specific announcements about what they might do if ignored. But in the past, Russia has used it's navy to patrol the Syrian waters. Iran has issued warnings about a possible attack also. An attack against Syria could send the entire Middle east into turmoil.
Concerns remain about a severe power vacuum that would exist with the ouster of Assad, that could put Al Qaeda in a position of power, like they've done in Libya. After President Obama laid out the :Red Line" against Syria, there was a gas attack, and the US used that as an excuse to arm the rebels.
This attack would aid Al Qaeda who was losing ground over the previous week and that fuels the speculation, they may have been involved. In previous attacks, Al Qaeda has used the strategy to kill as many as possible to fuel the outrage. It must be pointed out that there is not any evidence that Al Qaeda was behind the attack.
SOURCE