The New York Times is reporting that U.S. and European officials have concluded that Syria has used chemical weapons against rebels.
The Times quotes an internal memorandum circulating inside the government on Thursday stating that the "intelligence community assesses that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale against the opposition multiple times in the last year."
In April, President Obama said that the U.S. had physiological evidence that sarin nerve gas had been used in Syria.
Arizona Sen. John McCain, speaking on the Senate floor Thursday, says President Obama has decided that the U.S. will provide Syrian rebels with arms.
McCain says the president has acknowledged that chemical weapons are being used by President Bashar Assad's regime.
"But just to provide weapons is not enough," he says. McCain has also called for imposing a no-fly zone over Syria and for airstrikes to "take out Assad's air assets."
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