British Prime Minister David Cameron said Friday that his nation would not be sending military troops to Syria, despite the surfacing of evidence that shows President Bashar Assad has used chemical weapons against rebel fighters.
Mr. Cameron told the BBC the sarin gas evidence is “extremely serious” but that a response should take the form of politics, not military.
“This is extremely serious,” Mr. Cameron said. “And I think what President Obama said was absolutely right, that this should form for the international community, a red line for us to do more.”
But how to do more is “the question,” he said.
“How do we step up the pressure” is the big decision, Mr. Cameron said. “In my view what we need to do — and we’re doing some of this already — is shape that opposition, work with them, train them, mentor them, help them so we put the pressure on the regime and so we can bring this to an end.”
Mr. Cameron, asked directly if Britain would send ground troops to Syria, replied, “I don’t want to see that and I don’t think that is likely to happen. But I think we can step up the pressure on the regime, work with our partners, work with the opposition in order to bring about the right outcome.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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