Kerry sees no military solution to Syria conflict but backs limited attack

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said here Monday there was no military solution to the Syria conflict, but backed an "unbelievably small, limited kind" of attack that would not drag the U.S. into war. "Let me be clear. The United States of America, President Obama, myself and others are in full agreement that the end of the conflict in Syria requires a political solution. There is no military solution. We have no illusions about that," Kerry told a joint press conference with British Foreign Secretary William Hague. But Kerry argued strongly for a military attack on Syria "in a very limited, very targeted, very short-term effort that degrades his capacity to deliver chemical weapons without assuming responsibility for Syria's civil war." "That is exactly what we are talking about doing, unbelievably small, limited kind of effort," he said. When asked whether there was anything Assad's government could do to stop the U.S. attack, Kerry said: "Sure, he could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week - turn it over, all of it without delay and allow the full and total accounting (of it) but he isn't about to do it and it can't be done." For his part, Hague reiterated the British government's position of not taking military action against Syria in line with a veto by its parliament. "As you know, the government will fully respect the decision made by the House of Commons," the foreign secretary said, adding "the objectives and efforts between the UK and the U.S. remain closely aligned in all areas."