A photo shows scene of Syrian conflict’s devastation Credit: British Foreign and Commonwealth Office via Wikimedia Commons
In a turnabout of American strategy on Syria and representing first major foreign policy decision under Donald Trump White House, the United States launched missiles at a Syrian military airfield on Thursday, days after Bashar al-Assad’s regime reportedly used chemical weapons on Syrians.
On his decision to wade militarily into a fight with the Assad regime, President Trump said “it is in this 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 U.N. Security Council.”
The six years of civil war has taken a deadly toll on Syrians as regional Muslim countries Iran and Saudi Arabia also forayed into the war, injecting a lethal sectarian angle to what started as a popular struggle for democracy as part of the Arab Spring uprising.
President Trump also told Americans that “years of previous attempts at changing Assad’s behavior have all failed, and failed very dramatically.
“As a result, the refugee crisis continues to deepen and the region continues to destabilize, threatening the United States and its allies.”
Trump also sought international support for his strategy.
“Tonight, I call on all civilized nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria, and also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types. We ask 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 have passed. And we hope that as long as America stands for justice, then peace and harmony will, in the end, prevail.”
The Obama Administration had chosen to avoid military intervention against the Assad regime. Some analysts say the inexplicable Obama policy of disengagement represented American retreat. Others ascribed President Obama’s avoidance of military action against the brutal Assad regime as deference to his backer Iran at a time when the world powers were negotiating a nuclear deal with Tehran.
On Thursday, the U.S. media reported that the Trump administration decided to launch the action after what President Trump described as chemical attack against families and children including babies in Khan Shaikhoun.
But, according to The Washington Post, the action which dramatically expands U.S. military involvement in Syria also “exposes the United States to heightened risk of direct confrontation with Russia and Iran, both backing Assad in his attempt to crush his opposition.”
Syrian and Iraqi conflicts have inflamed the entire Middle East and the rise of ISIS or Daesh has further destabilized the region, while posing a new threat to the world.
The UN says around half a million Syrians have lost their lives to the conflagration and millions have been rendered refugees.
