Policy

US Widens List of Potential Targets of Syria Strike

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Reason

A Pentagon official has told CBS news that the list of potential targets for possible a military intervention in Syria has been broadened because intelligence suggests that Syrian forces have been preparing for a strike by moving equipment needed to deploy chemical weapons. The same Pentagon official insists that despite the fact that new targets are being considered the scope of any intervention will be no different that the current plan.

From CBS News:

(CBS News) The Pentagon has expanded the list of potential targets for a U.S. military strike on Syria, based on intelligence indicating that the Assad regime has moved around equipment used to deploy chemical weapons in anticipation of a potential attack.

A Pentagon official insisted to CBS News correspondent David Martin that the scope of the operation has not changed, which President Obama has described as limited and tailored. The military began adding new targets to the list as Syrian troops started moving equipment "they think might be targeted and hiding some of it so the U.S. cannot find it again," Martin reports.

The widening list of targets is part of an effort to guarantee that the U.S. can do enough damage to make this strike worthwhile and to truly disincentivize the Syrian regime from using chemical weapons in the future.

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