WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Monday cleared the way for the U.S. to send chemical weapons-related assistance to the Syrian opposition, as well as international organizations working inside the war-torn Middle Eastern country.

The move comes nearly a month after a deadly chemical weapons attack near Damascus that raised the specter of a U.S. military strike and resulted in a diplomatic deal aimed at stripping Syria of its stockpiles of deadly gases. While the White House says the international response should deter future attacks, the authorization of chemical weapons-related assistance signaled that the U.S. was at least preparing for the possibility that the deadly gases might be used again.