WH Has 'No Smoking Gun' Linking Assad with Chemical Weapons Attack

On Thursday, The New York Times reported that the White House had “no smoking gun” linking the Assad regime directly to an alleged chemical weapons attack in Damascus last week. The Times stated that the administration was already trying to downplay public intelligence presentation expectations. Administration officials said any such expectations would “not contain specific electronic intercepts of communications between Syrian commanders or detailed reporting from spies and sources on the ground.”

Despite the lack of evidence, the administration is prepared to use military force against Assad. “The commander in chief of any military is ultimately responsible for decisions made under their leadership,” Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said.

On Wednesday night, Obama said he might try a “shot across the bow” in Syria.

Ben Shapiro is Editor-At-Large of Breitbart News and author of the New York Times bestseller “Bullies: How the Left’s Culture of Fear and Intimidation Silences America” (Threshold Editions, January 8, 2013).