BBC在线收听下载:美国中情局局长当选新任国务卿

Hello, I'm Mary Marshall with the BBC News. President Trump has said on Twitter that an American military strike in retaliation for an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria could come very soon or not so soon at all. He is due to meet his security chiefs who will make final recommendations on what action he should take. Our correspondent in Washington, Barbara Plett Usher has this assessment of Mr. Trump's latest comment. It seems to be an acknowledgment that he may have been a little bit gung-ho about the timing of all of this, in terms of what his military planenrs are actually working on today, but it is something that's a bit more complicated to plan. It seems his own Secretary of Defense has said we are still assessing the intelligence. They are trying to bring allies on board. The discussion is about whether to have a larger strike than the one they had last year with more targets which is more complicated to plan, so it seems，we understand，that is likely any operation would take place not before the weekend.

Russia said its security personnel who deployed in Douma，following the withdrawal of rebel fighters, have found no evidence that it was the scene of a gas attack. A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman called on the West to seriously consider the consequences of any action. The International Chemical Weapon's watchdog says it is confirmed British government findings about the identity of the toxic chemical used in southern England against a former Russian spy and his daughter. The UK said that a Soviet era nerve agent had been used. The OPCW did not confirm Britain's claim that Russia must be behind last month's attack.

Donald Trump's choice to become the new Secretary of State is being answering questions by members of Congress in the Senate's confirmation hearing. Mike Pompeo who's currently the director of the CIA sought to play down his hawkish reputation. I know some of you've read, the story is I'm a hawk; I'm a hard-liner. I read that and, that there's no one, as you just heard in what I described. There is no one, like some who's served in uniform, who understands the value of diplomacy and the terror and tragedy that is war. It's the last resort. It must always be so. And I intend to work to achieve the President's policies with diplomacy, rather by sending our young men and women to war.

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