US close to making key decisions on Syria and Egypt

United States President Barack Obama said on Friday that the time was nearing for a potentially definitive US response to the Syrian government's alleged chemical weapon attack and an increasingly violent military crackdown in Egypt. Speaking in an interview broadcast on CNN TV, Obama evaluated recent developments in Middle East including Syria and Egypt. Obama, referring to the US as "one indispensable nation" in the Middle East, said, "We have to think through strategically what's going to be in our long term national interests." Asked about reports of chemical weapon attacks which allegedly killed more than 1,300 people, Obama responded that officials were "right now gathering information" and that "what we've seen indicates that this is clearly a big event of grave concern." Urging the United Nations (UN) to be more active, Obama called on the Syrian government to allow an investigation of the site of the alleged attack outside Damascus.