From CNN.com
Hagel: 'We're ready to go' if ordered on Syria chemical weaponsBy Chris Lawrence. Jill Dougherty and Tom Cohen, CNNupdated 4:01 PM EDT, Tue August 27, 2013Washington (CNN) --
With a flurry of diplomatic signals and activity, U.S. officials sought Tuesday to lay the groundwork for a possible military strike on Syria in response to last week's suspected chemical weapons attack that Washington blames on President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
The White House offered legal justification, with spokesman Jay Carney telling reporters the large-scale use of chemical weapons in Syria presented a national security threat to the United States that required a response.
Carney reiterated that President Barack Obama had yet to make a final decision on how to respond to what U.S. officials characterize as the worst chemical weapons attack since former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein launched a poison gas attack that killed thousands of Kurds in 1988.
The president continued to review options, Carney said, adding that "nothing has been decided" but assuring reporters some sort of response will come.
"Allowing the use of chemical weapons on a significant scale to take place without a response would present a significant challenge to or threat to the United States' national security," he said.
Vice President Joe Biden made clear the administration's view of who was to blame, telling the American Legion that "there is no doubt who is responsible for the heinous use of chemical weapons -- the Syrian regime."
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Secretary of State John Kerry consulted allies and indicated potential imminent action by a coalition likely to include key NATO partners and regional powers.
Days after the United States moved warships armed with cruise missiles into the region, Hagel told the BBC on Tuesday that forces were ready to carry out a strike if ordered. A senior Defense Department official told CNN that any strike could be completed "within several days."
"We are ready to go, like that," Hagel told the BBC, adding that "the options are there, the United States Department of Defense is ready to carry out those options."
Red text says it all.
We're goin to war.