Even though US intelligence agencies did not have absolute certainty Syria's regime had used the nerve agent sarin against civilians, the Trump administration still felt there was enough evidence to justify retaliatory strikes last Friday, several intelligence and defense officials tell CNN.
Biological samples from the area of the alleged chemical attack in Syria have tested positive for chlorine and a sarin-like nerve agent, according to a US official familiar with the US analysis of the test results.
Secretary of Defense James Mattis has warned the Syrian regime against the use of chemical weapons, telling reporters Friday "you have all seen how we reacted to that, so they'd be ill advised to go back to violating the chemical convention."
White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters Tuesday that a gas attack in a rebel-controlled area of Syria was perpetrated by the forces tied to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and are a "consequence of the past administration's weakness and irresolution."
