One week after a suspected sarin gas attack on the last rebel-held town in Ghouta left scores of Syrian civilians dead, President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the United States had conducted a retaliatory strike against Syrian military interests.
"A combined operation with the armed forces of France and the United Kingdom is underway," Trump said. Trump had met with top military and national security advisers earlier in the day. Trump had wavered on the possibility of military action in response to the attack, at one point warning Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin that "missiles are coming,” then later saying that an attack “could be be very soon or not so soon at all!"
The strike is the second retaliatory action in response to suspected use of chemical weapons by Assad; in April of last year, Trump responded to a similar attack by launching over 50 Tomahawk missiles at an airbase near Homs. Russia, which has backed Assad’s regime, had threatened to shoot down any American missiles detected in Syrian airspace. Source: New York Times
I DO see it as a fine reason that other nations should chase after nuclear weapons.
Countries with nukes do not get bombed by others for ANY REASON. When you have a nuke, diplomacy is always the first and best option.
Obama made threats to take steps if gas was used and did nothing, the atrocities in Syria continue and he used gas again. (not that Britain and France did not agree with the gas and air strikes)
I know the U.N. will take care of it like they take care of all the other tinpot dictators. NOT
(See squirrel paragraphs and everything.)
What scares me is just five days into the job, John Boton was already pulling his strings toward war:
“As President Donald Trump stood before television cameras on Friday to announce he’d ordered a sustained campaign of strikes in Syria, his new national security adviser John Bolton was standing a few paces away, reading along.” Link
However, I want to wait before judging as I have much more to learn.
Assad will not answer to reason, and Putin is getting way too used to do whatever the fuck he wants. And, this was not a US-alone action but in collaboration with France and the U.K.
I heard experts discussions Friday morning where one side was against the attack because that could give the victory to the rebels and repeat an Iraq. Bullshit. The reaction should have not, and was not, decisive in the conflict. It was to undermine Assad in a way that he needs to understand that any chemical warfare will be akin to shooting himself. So, if he does this again and again, and the retaliations amount to toppling hm, it was a result of his own actions.
And screw Putin. He needs to be reminded of the mutual assured destruction principle. He is not dealing with a defenseless Ukraine here, but with a might that can flatten him and his cohorts.
Diplomacy doesn't seem like it was getting very far with Assad, and chemical weapons on civilian populations seems like one of those firm lines that we can't allow people to cross.