European dealmaking on Syria as U.S. tries to build coalition

[EmperorScorpious]

[quote]Paris (CNN) -- You may have been surprised by the about-face by French President Francois Hollande who -- after initially stressing the need for urgent action on Syria while insisting there was no need to wait for the United Nations inspectors' report on the August 21 attack -- said on Friday that he now wants to wait for their findings.

[B]Then, Saturday in Lithuania after four hours of talks with Secretary of State John Kerry, the European Union foreign ministers issued a statement blaming Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the chemical weapons attack, calling it a "blatant violation of international law, a war crime and a crime against humanity" and calling for a "clear and strong" international response.[/B]

But the statement said U.N. inspectors investigating the incident should report their initial findings before any action is taken.

What's going on?

It is all about European politics.

[B]European diplomats say Hollande seemed to be left hanging when President Barack Obama decided to seek authorization for strikes from Congress. He is facing pressure from the French public and Parliament for a stronger international backing and U.N. imprint before taking military action in Syria.[/B]

European diplomats tell CNN that Hollande struck a deal with the European Union. In exchange for more European political support for action, he would wait for the U.N. inspectors' report. That was the genesis of the E.U. statement, which now has all 28 countries on record.

Until now, just a few countries were even expressing support for such action, as evident by the fact only 10 countries joined the United States in signing onto the G-20 statement (France, the U.K. and Spain were the only European nations).[/quote]

[url]http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/07/world/europe/eu-syria-strikes/index.html?hpt=hp_t1[/url]

[Electrocuter]

So from what I understand they now have to wait for the UN findings.

This is a good thing right?

[Mr_Sun]

[QUOTE=Electrocuter;42117715]So from what I understand they now have to wait for the UN findings.

This is a good thing right?[/QUOTE]

Yes

[Electrocuter]

[QUOTE=Mr_Sun;42117726]Yes[/QUOTE]

Yay.

[Sgt-NiallR]

Has anyone considered what might happen if the UN discovers that, in fact, chemical weapons weren't used?

[editline]8th September 2013[/editline]

I mean, I believe they were, but there'd be red faces all around if they weren't.

[FreakyMe]

[QUOTE=Sgt-NiallR;42117877]Has anyone considered what might happen if the UN discovers that, in fact, chemical weapons weren't used?[/QUOTE]

It is pretty much accepted that chemical weapons [I]were [/I]used, based on the video evidence available through a quick Google search - what can be brought into question though is whether or not the chemical weapons were of the type manufactured and possessed by the Syrian government, and whether they were actually used by Syrian forces in an ordered attack.