Britain, America and France are united in their readiness to act and do not require any further United Nations resolution under international law, the Foreign Secretary said. John Kerry, the US secretary of state, described the chemical attack as a “moral obscenity” and warned that Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s president, must face “consequences”.Syria is too far gone to pick sides,” said Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.), a member of the House Intelligence Committee who taught at West Point. “The rebels are infiltrated with Al Qaeda.Top CIA officials, including the Director of Central Intelligence William J. Casey, a close friend of President Ronald Reagan, were told about the location of Iraqi chemical weapons assembly plants; that Iraq was desperately trying to make enough mustard agent to keep up with frontline demand from its forces; that Iraq was about to buy equipment from Italy to help speed up production of chemical-packed artillery rounds and bombs; and that Iraq could also use nerve agents on Iranian troops and possibly civilians. FP