Secretary of State John Kerry Speaks On Syria [VIDEO]

Secretary of State John Kerry says there’s a reason the world has banned use of chemical weapons and nations have taken steps to eradicate them. He said they know that the Syrian regime keeps these weapons and that it has not been transparent regarding the attack. He also said that the administration will continue to speak with global and allied leaders. President Obama is still deciding how to respond to the attack. He believes that those responsible must be held accountable.

Kerry’s speech was only a few minutes in length and largely consisted of him recounting the facts that we already know and basically saying that they have not yet made a decision about what to do. He also expressed the horrifying nature of the attacks, including vivid descriptions of the videos that almost anyone can watch now thanks to social media. Overall the general feeling from the brief address is that the U.S. may take action this week. At this point there’s speculation about what that action may be, but apparently we won’t find out right now.

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to address the nation on the problems in Syria. That address is scheduled for 2 p.m. Eastern. At this point it’s unknown exactly what he will say, but we do know that it is related to the chemical weapons attack near Damascus in Syria last week.

The latest from Syria

The Telegraph reports that Kerry spoke with the Syrian foreign minister about the chemical attack, which killed hundreds of civilians. Reuters reports that the death toll could reach as high as 1,300, which would make this the most lethal chemical weapons attack in the world in three decades.

USA Today reports that today opposition activists in Syria pushed for military intervention from the U.S. Also today, a vehicle carrying weapons inspectors from the United Nations came under fire from snipers as it headed toward the site of last week’s attack. .

This story is developing. Check back after 2 p.m. for updates from Kerry’s address on Syria.