'RED LINE' CROSSED?US Works to Confirm Syria Used Chemical Weapons

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    White House: Military force is an option to deal with Syria

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    Do 'red line' declarations make sound foreign policy?

The White House said Friday that more evidence is necessary to confirm the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its people, but if that proves to be true, it would be a "game changer."

President Obama addressed the issue in the Oval Office, where he was meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II, though he didn't commit to any action yet in Syria.

"I have been very clear publicly, but also privately, that for the Syrian government to utilize chemical weapons on its people crosses a line that will change my calculus on how the United States approaches these issues. This is not an on or off switch. This is an ongoing challenge that all of us have to be concerned about," he said. 

Much talk has been made of Obama's  suggestion that the use of deadly chemical agents could be the "red line" for the U.S.to intervene in the two-year-old Syrian war.

"I think that in many ways a line's been crossed when we see tens of thousands of innocent people killed by a regime, but the use of chemical weapons and the danger that is poses to the international community, to neighbors of Syria, the potential of chemical weapons to get into the hands of terrorists, all of those things add increased urgency to what is already a significant security problem and humanitarian problem in the region," Obama told reporters.

Earlier Friday, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that the U.S. continues to investigate evidence that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons in its fight against rebels, but he resisted setting a timetable for possible action.

“It has been assessed by our intelligence community with varying degrees of confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically the chemical agent sarin," Carney said. "Now we are working to establish credible and corroborated facts to build on this intelligence assessment in order to establish a definitive judgment as to whether or not the president's red line has been crossed.”

When pressed by reporters, Carney made it clear there is no projected plan.``I'm not going to set a timeline, because the facts need to be what drives this investigation, not a deadline,''

Meanwhile, two Syrian officials denied Friday that its government forces had used chemical weapons against opposition forces. A government source told the Associated Press that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s army  "did not and will not use chemical weapons even if it had them."

Sharif Shehadeh, a Syrian lawmaker,also said the Syrian army "can win the war with traditional weapons" and has no need for chemical weapons.

Carney said President Obama would consider several paths of action if it’s determined that Syria used chemical weapons.``He retains all options to respond to that, all options,'' Carney said. ``Often when people mention all options are on the table, everyone just talks about military force. It's important to remember that there are options available to a commander in chief in a situation like this that include but are not exclusive to that option.''

Top-ranking lawmakers on both sides of the aisle declared Thursday that the "red line" in Syria had been crossed, calling for "strong" U.S. and international intervention after administration officials revealed that the intelligence community thinks chemical weapons were used. 

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate intelligence committee, and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., were among those urging swift action. 

McCain, who has long called for more involvement in Syria, voiced concern that the administration would use "caveats" to avoid acting on the new intelligence. He said America's enemies are paying "close attention" to whether the U.S. follows through, as the White House signaled it wanted to see more proof before responding to the new information. 

"I worry that the president and the administration will use these caveats as an excuse not to act right away or act at all," McCain told Fox News. "The president clearly stated that it was a red line and that it couldn't be crossed without the United States taking vigorous action." 

He called for the U.S. to help establish a no-fly zone and "safe zone" in Syria, as well as provide weapons to the "right people." 

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel first revealed the intelligence assessment, which was detailed in a letter to select members of Congress, while speaking to reporters on a visit to Abu Dhabi. The administration then released those letters, which said U.S. intelligence determined with varying degrees of confidence that "the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically the chemical agent sarin." 

Secretary of State John Kerry further confirmed that there were two documented instances of chemical weapons use. 

The White House, however, stressed that this was not enough to confirm how the nerve gas was released -- though acknowledged it is "very likely" to have originated with the regime of Bashar Assad -- and pressed the United Nations for a "comprehensive" investigation. The letter from the White House director of the Office of Legislative Affairs to leading members of the Senate Armed Services Committee said the assessment was based in part on "physiological samples." 

A White House official also urged caution, invoking the Iraq war as an example of why the administration should be absolutely certain before going forward. 

"Given our own history with intelligence assessments, including intelligence assessments related to WMD, it's very important that we are able to establish this with certainty and that we are able to provide information that is airtight ... to underpin all of our decision-making," the official said. "That is, I think, the threshold that is demanded given how serious this issue is." 

A senior U.S. defense official told Fox News the Defense Department has been preparing a wide range of contingency plans for military involvement in Syria for the past year. President Obama has seen the plans and is fully aware of those options.

The options, according to this official, range from establishing no-fly zones to creating humanitarian zones to launching strikes on chemical weapons sites, select regime leadership and other targets. The official emphasized that no decisions have been made about whether to further involve the U.S. military in Syria and that there are still many questions that need to be answered first. 

A United Nations spokesman said the chemical weapon findings reinforce the need for U.N. officials to "be given the requested swift and unfettered access to Syria that it needs to determine whether chemical weapons have indeed been used." 

McCain, speaking to Fox News, said in his view the red line "was crossed." 

Feinstein, an important voice on matters of intelligence and security, also said it is "clear" those lines have been crossed and "action must be taken to prevent larger scale use." 

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., reacting to the reports Thursday, said the "number one" goal should be to "secure the chemical weapons before they fall into the wrong hands." 

"I think the red line's been crossed and the question is, now what?" Graham said on Fox News. 

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., also said in a statement the assessment is "deeply troubling and, if correct, means that President Obama's red line has certainly been crossed." 

But Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., argued that it is not in the United States' "best interest" to go into Syria. "We cannot be absolutely sure about the extent to which Assad's forces have used chemical weapons, although we know they have them," he said in a statement. 

Asked if this crossed a "red line" for the U.S., Hagel likewise said they are still trying to assess. 

"It violates every convention of warfare," he said. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Was 'Red Line' Crossed in Syria?

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    Report: 25 killed in chemical attack in Syria

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    James Rosen grills Carney over Syrian chemical weapons

The Assad regime and Syrian rebels traded accusations Tuesday of launching a chemical attack -- in an escalation that, if confirmed, would mark the first known use of chemical weapons in the civil war and could pressure the U.S. to consider military action after two years on the sidelines. 

President Obama has long said the use of chemical weapons would be a "red line" for his administration. However, the warning has always been directed at the Assad regime -- it's unclear whether the administration would feel compelled to intervene if the opposition used chemical weapons. U.S. officials downplayed the allegations Tuesday and said they could find no evidence of chemical weapons, as they uniformly voiced skepticism at the Assad regime's claims. 

"We are deeply skeptical of a regime that has lost all credibility," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday. 

The regime, whose allegation was backed by ally Russia, said 31 people were killed, including 21 civilians and 10 soldiers, in the attack. Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi called it the "first act" of the newly announced opposition interim government. 

Rebels quickly denied the report and accused regime forces of firing the chemical weapon. 

The head of Syria's main opposition group, the Syrian National Council, said the group was still investigating the alleged chemical attack near Aleppo. 

"Everyone who used it, we are against him, whatever he is," Mouaz al-Khatib told reporters in English in Istanbul. "We are against killing civilians using chemical weapons, but let us wait some time to have accurate information." 

The reports could not be independently verified because of tight media restrictions, particularly in government-controlled areas that are virtually shut to all foreign media and outside observers. 

But if either version of events is true, it would mark a serious escalation in the two-year conflict. Obama administration officials were pressed repeatedly Tuesday on whether the use of chemical weapons by either side would compel any action by the U.S., which has kept its distance from the civil war. 

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland reiterated that the use of chemical weapons would "constitute a red line for the United States," though she made that remark in reference to the Assad regime. 

She and Carney, as well as the Pentagon, said they could not confirm the allegations. 

"We've seen reports from the Assad regime alleging that the opposition has been responsible for use. Let me just say that we have no reason to believe these allegations represent anything more than the regime's continued attempts to discredit the legitimate opposition and distract from its own atrocities committed against the Syrian people," Nuland said. 

"We don't have any evidence to substantiate the regime's charge that the opposition even has CW (chemical weapons) capability," she added. 

Carney suggested that the Assad regime could be using the charges to cover up its own use of chemical weapons. 

"It is important as fighting in Syria intensifies and the regime becomes more desperate, that the United States and the international community make absolutely clear to Assad that the use of chemical weapons would be totally unacceptable," Carney said. "The president was clear when he said that if Assad and those under his command make the mistake of using chemical weapons or fail to meet their obligations to secure them, then there will be consequences and they will be held accountable." 

Amid questions about whether the "red line" had indeed been crossed, the top U.S. military commander in Europe said Tuesday that NATO is conducting contingency planning for possible military involvement in Syria and American forces would be prepared if called upon by the United Nations and member countries. 

Adm. James Stavridis, commander of U.S. European Command, told a Senate panel that the United States is "looking at a variety of operations." 

"We are prepared if called upon to be engaged," Stavridis told the Senate Armed Services Committee. 

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, said a rocket attack on Khan al-Assal killed at least 26 people but its director, Rami Abdul-Rahman, said he had no information on chemical weapons being involved in the attack. 

He said the rocket landed near a military installation in the village. 

Syria's policy has been not to confirm or deny if it has chemical weapons. But in July, then-Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi told a news conference that Syria would only use chemical or biological weapons in case of foreign attack, not against its own people. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Has Army vet aiding Syrian rebels become a jihadist?- Assad's forces hammer Homs neighborhood in Syria

He's a U.S.-trained soldier turned Muslim warrior who moves between America and countries where the winds of the Arab spring blow, fighting alongside jihadists and America-hating terrorists while celebrating his bloody exploits on YouTube videos.

Eric Harroun, 30, grew up in Phoenix before joining the U.S. Army in 2000. Although Harroun was never deployed during his three-year hitch, he has seen plenty of combat fighting with Syrian rebels and, more recently, Jabhat al-Nusra, a group the U.S. State Department classifies as an alias for Al Qaeda in Iraq.

“I was separated in a battle and most of my group was K.I.A. and Al-Nusra picked me up,” Harroun told FoxNews.com during one of several brief interviews conducted via Skype.

“I hate bad guys like Bashar [Assad]. "I hate Iran, too. I am a freedom fighter."

- Eric Harroun, U.S.-born jihadist known as "The American"

Harroun, who said he is now in Turkey, shrugged off a question about fighting alongside Al Qaeda terrorists who have joined the Syrian rebellion, saying, "the U.S. plays both sides, too." He said the offshoot of the terror group behind the 9/11 attacks welcomed him.

“Getting into Al-Nusra is not rocket science," he said. "It just takes balls and brains.”

Harroun, known among Syrian rebels and loyalists alike as “The American,” has moved from one country to another, joining protesters in the takedown of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak before fighting alongside rebels attempting to depose Syria’s Bashar al-Assad. A prolific poster of online diatribes against the infidel, he's joined the threads of those calling for the deaths of Zionists.

His father, Darryl Harroun, told FoxNews.com that his son was discharged from the Army after he was seriously injured while riding in a pickup truck that hit a tree. He was left with full disability pay and a steel plate in his head, according to his father. 

"Now he has mood swings and what-not," said Darryl Harroun, who lives in Arizona and talks to his son by phone frequently. "He was already suffering from depression before that, and the accident just kind of multiplied it."

Darryl Harroun said his son is seen as an adventurer by friends and relatives, who call him "Arizona Jones." 

"He just loves that part of the world," said Darryl Harroun, who said his family has been in the U.S. for several generations and is not Muslim. "We scratch our heads and wonder what the hell he's doing. I told him, 'You're never going to change those people's minds over there.' But he says they treat him like a hero.

"I know one day I'm going to get a message from over there, telling me my son is dead," he said.

Darryl Harroun said he doesn't believe the U.S. -- much less his own son -- has any business in Middle Eastern affairs. But at least one family member seems to believe Harroun is fighting a noble battle.

"Keep fighting Eric!" Harroun's sister, Sarah Harroun, posted on Facebook this week. "The people of Syria and you are in my prayers."

Harroun's descent into Islamic fanaticism seems to have begun sometime after his discharge from the military. With seemingly no way to pursue his lifelong dream of being a soldier, he fell in with two Iraqi brothers, Maadh and Hayder Ibrahim, who he met while attending Pima Community College in Tucson, and began to identify himself as a Muslim, according to people who know him.

He became active on anti-Israeli message boards, posting virulent rants against Zionism as well as his own uploaded images and videos.

A spokesman with the Syrian rebel group known as the Amr ibn al-’Aas Brigade told FoxNews.com “The American” operated with the organization until a month ago. Harroun confirmed reports from the Amr ibn al-'As brigade that he had left Syria, and said he is currently in Istanbul.

Harroun is believed to have worked for a Phoenix-based mortgage company after leaving the military. Officials and co-workers there declined to discuss Harroun, whose online posts indicate he has traveled to and from the Middle East at least a half-dozen times over the last decade.

Army spokesman Ray Gall confirmed that Harroun served in the Army's 568th Engineer Company and was based at Fort Riley, Kansas, from October 2000 to May 2003, attaining the rank of Private First Class before his discharge. Gall declined to provide any details regarding Harroun's discharge.

In Syria, Harroun has become so well known that a pro-regime video was created claiming that “The American” is a “criminal from Miami.” A mugshot and rap sheet are provided as proof of Harroun’s criminal past, but the picture in the video does not resemble Harroun.

In recent months, Harroun has appeared in several online videos alongside Syrian rebels fighting in Damascus. Described in his Facebook profile as a Sunni Muslim, Harroun has posted in several threads claiming to have personally killed several Shabiha (supporters of the Assad regime), Syrian soldiers and an Iranian.

“I hate bad guys like Bashar [Assad]," Harroun told FoxNews.com. "I hate Iran, too. I am a freedom fighter."

In one video posted online, Harroun is seen on the Syrian battlefield, speeding toward a downed helicopter in a Jeep detailed with a Free Syrian Army emblem on its windshield. Harroun told FoxNews.com the video was shot at a place called Mansura in eastern Syria.

In the video, Harroun and a driver he addresses in Arabic as “The Chechen” ride toward the downed Syrian helicopter. 

“We smoked the mother f*****s, didn’t we?” Harroun tells the driver.

"Allah Akbar!” he exclaims.

The FSA is a conglomerate of militia-style groups and former Syrian military personnel, according to Rafael Green, a research fellow at the Middle East Media Research Institute. Green said the FSA cooperates with groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra, and is not particular about who takes up its cause

For Harroun, who claims to have been arrested twice by Egyptian security forces in 2011 and traveled extensively in Lebanon and Turkey, the war in Syria seems to be an opportunity to kill in the name of a cause. He said Israel may be next on his agenda -- specifically the Palestinian territories -- citing “atrocities” that “Israel is doing to the Palestinians.

"Maybe Gaza is next for me, maybe [the] West Bank," said Harroun, whose Facebook wall bears the quote: “The only good Zionist is a dead Zionist.”

Greg Tepper is a freelance journalist based in Israel. Ilan Ben Zion (@ilanbenzion) is a reporter for the Times of Israel.

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