How strong is America's evidence against Syria, really?

In the long shadow of Iraq's intelligence failure, U.S. officials say the evidence against Assad is "not a slam dunk"

United Nations investigation team
(Image credit: AP Photo/Erbin City via AP video)

The United States appears headed for an almost certain military intervention in Syria following allegations that President Bashar al-Assad had used chemical weapons on opposition forces and civilians.

However, while government officials, and President Obama himself, have publicly said it is clear Assad's forces carried out that attack, they have yet to produce hard evidence establishing the link. And privately, multiple U.S. intelligence officials have cautioned that the evidence is "not a slam dunk," according to the Associated Press — a reference to former CIA Director George Tenet's 2002 claim, later disproved, that the evidence tying Iraq to weapons of mass destruction was just that.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.