From USA Today:
"Trump says U.S. is striking Syria over its use of chemical weapons"
President Trump said he ordered precision missile strikes against the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad Friday night in a coordinated attack with U.K. and French allies. Trump said the strikes were intended to deter the use of chemical weapons like the attack on civilians in the Syrian town of Douma last week. "The evil and the despicable attack left mothers and fathers, infants and children writhing in pain and gasping for air," Trump said. The action comes almost a week after rebels in the beleaguered nation claimed Syrian forces under Assad killed more than 40 men, women and children in a chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburb of Douma. Syria has denied using chemical weapons. French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that "we have proof" chlorine gas was used by Assad's regime. The internationally respected Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons was scheduled to begin its own investigation in Syria on Saturday. President Trump, in the days after the attack, described the Syrian president as "that animal Assad" and ripped Russia and Iran for supporting him. Trump was further agitated when a Russian official promised that U.S. missiles would be shot down and the base or ships from which they were fired attacked. "Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria," Trump responded on Twitter. "Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and 'smart!' You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!" On Thursday, however, Trump walked his remarks back a bit, saying an attack "could be very soon or not so soon at all!" Russia has also denied the use chemical weapons in Syria, accusing Britain on Friday of staging a fake attack in Douma. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said images of victims of the purported attack were staged with “Britain’s direct involvement, “ without providing evidence. Britain’s ambassador to the United Nations, Karen Pierce, dismissed Konashenkov’s claim as “a blatant lie.” Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Thursday repeated a common theme of the Trump administration: The U.S. goal in Syria is to defeat of the Islamic State while avoiding involvement in the brutal, seven-year civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes. However, on Thursday afternoon, British Prime Minister Theresa May released a statement saying her government "agreed on the need to take action to alleviate humanitarian distress and to deter the further use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime." The British, the statement said, will keep working with the United States and France to determine an international response. The strategic aim of the U.S. response, a former senior Defense official familiar with planning for the attack said, was to raise the cost of using weapons prohibited by international treaty and doubts in the minds of Assad's military officers the next time he orders a similar attack. The former official spoke on condition of anonymity, lacking authorization to speak publicly about planning. Assad has repeatedly been accused of using chemical agents during the nation's devastating, seven-year civil war. A sarin gas attack a year ago killed more than 80 people in the town of Khan Shaykhun, and two days later Trump authorized launch of dozens of cruise missiles on a Syrian air base. British and French forces had been expected to take part in the latest allied effort, including use of missiles. The use of allied, manned warplanes would require first destroying some of Syria’s air defenses, which include Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missiles. Those systems encircle Damascus and some of Syria’s larger bases. Less than a month ago, Trump said he wanted to bring U.S troops home from Syria. The White House, however, quickly signaled a U.S. withdrawal is not imminent. Still, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Armed Service Committee, said Trump's "premature" declaration emboldened Assad.
^ Yesterday was Yom Ha Shoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) and you always hear "Never Again" yet there have been many genocides since 1945. The world did nothing the first time Syria used chemical weapons against their own people a few years ago and that inaction allowed Syria to use chemical weapons again on their own citizens. Russia is a staunch ally of Syria (mainly because it's dictator wants to help the other dictator and to use Syria as a base) and has claimed that the chemical attack wasn't done by Syria, but by everyone else (ie. the UK. Israel, the US, etc.) We all know from the past 15 years that Putin is a great liar (there were no Russian troops in Crimea until it was all of the sudden annexed to Russia, Russia didn't poison the ex spy in the UK, Russia didn't hack the US, etc.) They (Syria and Russia) always place blame on everyone else and it is finally time to tell them - especially Russia - that they no longer have carte blanche to invade, attack, annex, poison, hack, etc. We have dealt with Russian dictators and liars before and won (their country completely collapsed along with their whole economic, military and political structure.) It isn't just the US who is sending this message, but also the UK and France. If Russia is crazy enough to take on the US (again) then it won't be simply sanctions we impose on them. ^
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.