Several military officials were reportedly caught off guard by a White House statement Monday night that indicated Syria was engaged in "potential preparations" for a new chemical attack, The New York Times reported.... ...The reported lack of communication between military channels also appeared to be corroborated by a BuzzFeed News report that cited five defense officials who said they did not know of the details regarding a potential chemical attack, and were not aware of the White House's plans to release a statement. Shortly after the White House statement was released, Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations,...