President Barack Obama made clear to President Bashar al-Assad that if he attempts any activity which invovles use of chemical weapons, there will be retaliation from the United States of America. “A red line for us is we start seeing a wjhole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change my calculus.” He also made clear the US has contingency plans for action if Syria initiates chemical warfare.
Obama said there would be “enormous consequences” if Assad played the chemical card. Hopefully, leaders of the Syrian armed forces understand they might be able to kill a few hundred militants, but the cost would be the entire Syrian nation.