Kerry: No doubt Assad will use chemical weapons again unless US intervenes

Secretary of State John Kerry continued to push for military strikes against the Syrian regime, assuring Americans and the world that he has learned valuable lessons from the mistakes of the Vietnam and Iraq wars."I am informed by Vietnam, not imprisoned by it. And I am informed by Iraq, not imprisoned by it, either," wrote Kerry in an op-ed published on the State Department's official blog Friday."The faulty intelligence of the Iraq War was a legacy burned into all of us who present the case for action in Syria to the Congress: It has made us press with extra urgency to know that we are highly confident of what we speak now," he said."There will be no boots on the ground in Syria. There will be no open-ended commitment," he stressed. "There will be no assuming responsibility for another country's civil war.These and other differences with Iraq are the exact reasons why many members of Congress who opposed that war and voted against it are supporting this action against Syria today." Kerry further argued that the "international norm against the use of chemical weapons" must be upheld by both the US and the world, insisting that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad "is responsible" for the chemical weapons attack on August 21."I have no doubt that Assad will use chemical weapons again and again unless we take action. I have no doubt that we will never get to the negotiating table for the peace talks we have pushed for if Assad believes he can gas his way out of his predicament," wrote Kerry, indicating the US intends to push Syria toward a political solution."The costs of inaction here are much greater than the costs of action," he added. "Some people have asked why we would consider acting without the backing of the United Nations Security Council. It's the same reason that President Clinton in Kosovo did not bind his conscience to a Russian or Chinese veto in New York: In Kosovo, without a single American combat casualty, countries of conscience acted and the world is a better place because we did." Kerry's comments came as the White House revealed a list of 10 allies on Friday that have signed on to a statement collectively calling for "longer term international efforts to address the enduring security challenge posed by Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles." The countries are Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey and Britain.The statement also condemned "in the strongest terms" the human rights violations inside the war-torn country.It was signed in Saint Petersburg, Russia, where President Barack Obama is meeting with leaders of the G20 countries, but it does not contain references to foreign military intervention.