In a striking reversal, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in Abdu Dhabi Thursday afternoon, April 25, that US intelligence now believes the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against its own people. He said the White House was about to inform Congress of this determination. Earlier, Israeli Air Force jets downed a Hizballah drone eight kilometers out at sea opposite Haifa. DEBKAfile: This was a step in Hizballah’s plan to force the Syrian war’s spillover into Israel after Lebanon and Jordan.