Foreign Affairs

These Pictures Show Obama’s ‘Red Line’ In Syria Was A Failure

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A Syrian humanitarian group released pictures of what appears to be the remnants of a chlorine gas bomb, showing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has completely ignored President Barack Obama’s “red line” on chemical weapons.

The pictures, released by the Syrian Civil Defense Sunday, show what appears to be a chlorine bomb dropped in the Syrian city of Hama. In one picture, workers covered in plastic protective gear are seen taking samples from the munition. A second close-up shows “CL2” printed on the munition itself, the chemical symbol for chlorine.

#BreakingNews Chlorine bombs dropped in Hama 2 Oct 16. Clearly marked as Chlorine (CL2). @JohnKerry @BorisJohnson pic.twitter.com/NEhpsXMQT9

— The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) October 2, 2016

Attacking civilians and various rebels from the air is a favorite tactic of Assad’s. In the five years since the Syrian civil war began, the dictator and his Russian allies have dropped countless munitions on the Syrian people, including barrel bombs and chemical weapons.

Obama declared in 2012 that any use of chemical weapons on the Syrian people would constitute the crossing of a “red line,” forcing the U.S. to respond. Secretary of State John Kerry later secured a deal with Assad requiring him to give up his chemical weapons stockpile. It has since been made clear that he did not give up all of it.

Despite repeated violations and broken promises, the Obama administration has failed to respond, even after 50 currently-serving U.S. diplomats urged him to take action to stop the deadly conflict that has killed as many as 400,000 people.

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