The Washington Post reports: The United States is prepared to again take action against the Syrian government if it continues to use chemical weapons and barrel bombs, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday. The use of barrel bombs — crude munitions often forbidden by international law — has become a near daily occurrence in war-torn Syria, so taking action each time one is dropped would mark a dramatic shift in strategy and would quickly escalate U.S. involvement in Syria.

Although Spicer lumped barrel bombs in the same category as chemical weapons on three separate occasions during a Monday briefing with reporters, he later insisted that his comments should not be interpreted as a change in U.S. policy.

“Nothing has changed in our posture,” Spicer said in a statement late Monday afternoon. “The president retains the option to act in Syria against the Assad regime whenever it is in the national interest, as was determined following that government’s use of chemical weapons against its own citizens. And as the president has repeatedly made clear, he will not be telegraphing his military responses.” [Continue reading…]