DENIAL

Assad: No ‘Evidence’ of Attack

Tells Charlie Rose in interview.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad insisted there is “no evidence” that his government used chemical weapons—and suggested there would be retaliation if attacked. In an interview with PBS’s Charlie Rose, which will air Monday, Assad would not say for certain whether his government had chemical weapons, but said that if they had them, they would be “in centralized control.” In fact, Assad said, it is up to the U.S. to prove that his government was behind the alleged August 21 nerve gas attack, which U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said killed more than 1,400 civilians. Meanwhile, Kerry said in London that “the evidence speaks for itself” of the alleged attack.