The US is prepared to act without the UK against Syria in retaliation for alleged chemical attacks after British MPs stunned their government by rejecting David Cameron’s attempts to win parliamentary support for missile strikes.

美国准备单独对叙利亚采取行动，以报复叙利亚当局涉嫌发动的化学武器攻击。此前，英国首相戴维·卡梅伦(David Cameron)试图在导弹袭击叙利亚问题上赢得英国议会的支持，而议会的否决决定绑住了英国政府的手脚。

White House officials indicated on Thursday night that the US would go it alone if need be after the UK prime minister suffered an unexpected defeat as he sought support in principle for military action against Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which he accused of launching chemical weapons attacks against its own people.

周四晚上，白宫官员指出，由于英国首相未能赢得议会的支持，美国在必要时将独自行动。英国首相此前曾指控巴沙尔·阿萨德(Bashar al-Assad)当局向本国民众发动化学武器攻击，为此他希望能获得多数人支持，对阿萨德当局采取军事行动，结果却出乎意料地未能如愿。

“President [Barack] Obama’s decision-making will be guided by what is in the best interests of the United States,” said Caitlin Hayden, National Security Council spokeswoman. “He believes that there are core interests at stake for the United States and that countries who violate international norms regarding chemical weapons need to be held accountable.”

美国国家安全委员会(NSCl)女发言人凯特琳·海登(Caitlin Hayden)表示：“巴拉克·奥巴马(Barack Obama)总统将依据最符合美国利益的原则进行决策。他相信此事关系到美国核心利益——那些违反化学武器相关国际规范的国家必须为此负责。”

The UK vote has left Mr Obama in a jam as he attempts to win support at home for a limited military strike, forcing him to contemplate undertaking the mission without the US’s key ally at its side giving him both political and military support.

英国议会的投票结果使奥巴马陷入尴尬境地，奥巴马也争取国内对有限度军事打击的支持，这使得奥巴马不得不考虑在未得到美国关键盟国的政治及军事支持情况下对叙利亚动手。

A growing band of members of Congress who have been demanding a vote on any authorisation to use military force – and who had been held at bay by the leadership of both parties – will be strengthened by the UK result.

要求政府在每次动用军事力量前须经过国会投票授权的国会议员越来越多，过去他们始终受到两党领导人的压制，英国此次议会投票结果将加强他们的影响力。

A congressional intervention would complicate any military action as the Senate and the House are out of session and could not debate let alone vote on any motion before next week. The White House has said it does not need a vote to authorise military force.

美国参众两院正处于休会期，下周前都无法就任何动议开展辩论，更不用说投票了，因此国会的干预将使军事行动复杂化。白宫已经表态，政府动用武力并不需要国会投票通过、进行授权。

China’s official news agency TingVoa.com on Friday said foreign minister Wang Yi had spoken to UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon to again urge restraint.

周五，中国官方新闻机构新华社(TingVoa.com)表示，外交部长王毅已经与联合国秘书长潘基文(Ban Ki-moon)通过电话，再次呼吁各方保持克制。