"Yes, nerve agent was used in Syria;

Yes, that violates our red line; no, we don't want to do anything about it.  So we're saying that we need confirmation because(you ready?) OF WHAT BUSH DID."
Because Obama is real big on throwing out threats and lines in the sand, but when it's time to back them up, well, not so much.  So there's got to be some excuse other than "I don't know what to do, and if I did I would not WANT to do it."

Think I'm kidding?
"We are continuing to do further work to establish a definitive judgment as to whether or not the red line has been crossed and to inform our decision-making about what to do next," the official said. "If we reach a definitive determination that this red line has been crossed, based on credible, corroborated information, what we will be doing is consulting closely with our friends and allies and the international community more broadly, as well as the Syrian opposition, to determine what the best course of action is." 
Translation: "If we drag this out long enough maybe it'll go away.  And if not we can blame the allies for all the problems."


And I freakin' love this line: But numerous questions remain about the origins of the chemical and what effect its apparent use could have on the ongoing Syrian civil war and international involvement in it.
Hehehehe... the origins of the chemical in more ways than one, I'm thinking.  Though part of that they'd flat HATE to have confirmed if I'm right.

And, making this even more fun is our favorite horn-on-the-nose-jackass:
McCain, who has been advocating more intervention in Syria for years, called for arming the opposition, a step that the White House has resisted thus far(really?  Since when?), establishing a safe zone and taking proactive steps to ensure that the chemical weapons don’t fall into the wrong hands.

“It does not mean boots on the ground,” McCain said.
 No, of course not, we'll just take the step of (This is where the magic happens) and the stuff will either be destroyed("But they promised!") or just appear and be handed over to us...
Hey, we've got troops on the border NOW, so I'm sure- with the proper "It will make you look wonderful, Mr. President!"- it'd take damn little for us to wind up with boots on the ground.
Fucking wonderful.