3 hrs ago from MSNBC

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Syria at 'red line': Chemical weapon use confirmed

President Obama has said that the use of chemical weapons in Syria would cross a "red line" and prompt unspecified U.S. action. 

Updated 6:10 p.m. ET -

U.S. intelligence has determined "with varying degrees of confidence" that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has used chemical weapons against his own people, pressing the two-year-old civil war up against the "red line" previously established by President Obama.

"Our intelligence community does assess with varying degrees of confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically the chemical agent sarin," the White House wrote in a letter to members of Congress Thursday.

Obama has said that the use of chemical weapons in Syria would cross a "red line" and prompt unspecified U.S. action. What Thursday's news could mean in terms of U.S. involvement is not yet known. The bloody Syrian conflict is estimated to have caused more than 70,000 deaths-and created a growing refugee crisis.

Earlier this week, Israeli officials said they believed chemical weapons had been used against the opposition in Syria, following similar assessments by the French and British.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel shared the same information with reporters while traveling in Abu Dhabi Thursday. He stressed that U.S. officials are continuing to assess and gather information on the use of the weapons.
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