The United States launched a targeted missile strike on Syria to “prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons,” President Donald Trump said on Thursday night.
U.S. warships in the region launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles on an airfield controlled by President Bashar al-Assad in the war-torn country.
The U.S action is in response to a chemical attack that killed at least 80 people, including children earlier this week in a rebel controlled area. The U.S has held Mr. Assad responsible for the attack, while the regime has denied responsibility.
“Assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children. It was a slow and brutal death for so many. Even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered at this very barbaric attack. No child of god should ever suffer such horror,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump’s decision to conduct a military intervention in Syria marks a turnaround from his position during last year campaign and it won instant support from a cross section of commentators.
The President’s decision is also a departure from his predecessor Barack Obama’s policy.
Tillerson blames Russia
The attack on Syria also eclipsed the ongoing debate in the U.S on alleged collusion between Mr. Trump’s campaign officials and Russian agents, even as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson blamed Russia for failing to stop Mr. Assad’s use of chemical weapons. “Either Russia has been complicit or Russia has been simply incompetent in its ability to deliver on its end of that agreement [to remove all chemical weapons from the regime’s control]” he said.
“There were no discussions or prior contacts, nor had there been any since the attack with Moscow,” Mr. Tillerson told reporters in Florida.
Mr. Trump, in a brief announcement, where he started his first summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, said:
“On Tuesday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad launched a horrible chemical attack on innocent civilians using a deadly nerve agent. Tonight I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched. It is in vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons.
"There can be no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons, violated its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and ignored the urging of the UN Security Council. Numerous previous attempts at changing Assad’s behavior have all failed very dramatically. As a result, the refugee crisis continues to deepen and the region continues to destabilise, threatening the United States and its allies.
"Tonight I call on all civilised nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syrian and also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types. We asked for God’s wisdom as we face the challenge of our very troubled world. We pray for the lives of the wounded and for the souls of those who passed. And we hope as long as America stands for justice and peace and harmony will in the end prevail. Good night and God bless America and the entire world.”
Mr. Tillerson said the Syrian regime had agreed to surrender its chemical weapons under the supervision of the Russian government. “…the U.S. and the Russian government entered into agreements whereby Russia would locate these weapons, secure these weapons and destroy these weapons. They would act as the guarantor that these weapons would no longer be present in Syria,” he said. “Clearly Russia has failed in its responsibility,”
“It is important to recognize that as Assad has continued to use chemical weapons in these attacks with no response, with no response from the international community, he, in effect, is normalizing the use of chemical weapons, which may then be adopted by others. Therefore, it’s important that some action be taken on behalf of the international community to make clear that these chemical weapons continue to be a violation of international norms,” Mr. Tillerson said.
Critics laud military action
Two of Mr. Trump’s staunchest critics within the Republican Party, Senators John McCain and Lindsay Graham lauded the military action.
“Acting on the orders of their commander-in-chief, they have sent an important message the United States will no longer stand idly by as Assad, aided and abetted by Putin’s Russia, slaughters innocent Syrians with chemical weapons and barrel bombs,” they said in a joint statement.
