While the White House pressed ahead making its case for a military strike against Syria, Bashar al-Assad denied that he was behind the chemical weapons attack on civilians in the eastern suburbs of Damascus.

In an interview aired on an American television network, the Syrian president denied that he was behind a chemical weapons attack on the Syrian people.

The full interview will air on Monday night, competing for airtime with President Obama who is granting a series of interviews with different reporters to explain his rationale for attacking Syria.  Mr. Obama will address the American people directly on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported that the BND, the German intelligence service, intercepted communications indicating that Bashar al-Assad did not personally order the 21 August chemical weapon attack.  The intercepts boost the US, UK, and French case that elements of the Syrian government is using chemical weapons.  But they also suggest that Bashar al-Assad blocked numerous requests from his military commanders to use chemical weapons against regime opponents in recent months.