White House 2013-08-24 readout

The White House Office of the Press Secretary


 * For Immediate Release
 * August 24, 2013

President Barack Obama convened a meeting of his National Security Council on today to discuss the reported use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government on Wednesday, August 21 near Damascus. In coordination with international partners and mindful of the dozens of contemporaneous witness accounts and record of the symptoms of those killed, the U.S. intelligence community continues to gather facts to ascertain what occurred. The President also received a detailed review of a range of potential options he had requested be prepared for the United States and the international community to respond to the use of chemical weapons.

Participants in today's meeting included:


 * The Vice President
 * Secretary of State John Kerry
 * Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel
 * White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough
 * U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Samantha Power
 * National Security Advisor Susan Rice
 * White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler
 * Director of National Intelligence James Clapper
 * Director of the Central Intelligence Agency John Brennan
 * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey
 * Deputy Attorney General James Cole
 * Deputy National Security Advisor Antony Blinken
 * Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa Monaco
 * Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Benjamin Rhodes
 * National Security Advisor to the Vice President Jacob Sullivan



= Resources =