When Did Syria's Chemical Weapons Become The "Red Line" For Intervention?

President Barack Obama talks with King Abdullah II of Jordan during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office, April 26, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

When Did Chemical Weapons Become Red Line For U.S.? -- Zachary Keck, The Diplomat

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel says the U.S. now believes with some confidence that the Bashar al-Assad regime used small amounts of chemical weapons against rebel forces. Earlier this week Israeli intelligence had also said it believed al-Assad’s forces used chemical weapons, and the United Kingdom and France have both said they had strong suspicions.

This is significant because President Barack Obama declared back in August that the U.S. had “communicated in no uncertain terms with every player in the region” that chemical weapons are “a red line for us and that there would be enormous consequences if we start seeing movement on the chemical weapons front or the use of chemical weapons. That would change my calculations significantly.” He and his administration have repeated this message on numerous occasions in the months since.

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My Comment: I remembered the same debate before the 2003 Iraq invasion .... and some my colleagues asked the same question then .... "should Iraq's WMDs become the red line for intervention". It seems we are repeating history .... but I am still hopeful that the President Obama will not repeat that history.

Update: It appears that this is going to be the next course of action from the U.S..