The game is now about to begin…
Via NBC:
With a U.S. military strike looming, U.N. weapons inspectors left Syria ahead of schedule early Saturday for a dangerous predawn drive to Lebanon, carrying unknown evidence of what the U.S. says was a chemical weapons attack on its own citizens by the Syrian government.
The inspectors had been expected to leave about 9 a.m. Saturday (2 a.m. ET), but they were seen leaving their hotel in Damascus, the capital about 5:30 a.m. in vehicles bound for Beirut, Lebanon. They made no comment as they arrived at the Beirut airport.
The U.N. said Friday that the team had finished collecting samples from the site of the alleged attack but that a complete analysis would take time. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the five permanent Security Council members that it may be two weeks before final results are ready, diplomats said.