US, UK and France Launch “Precision Strikes” Against Syria

US, UK and France Launch “Precision Strikes” Against Syria

U.S. President Donald J. Trump just announced an unprovoked military attack by the United States in conjunction with the United Kingdom and France. In President Trump’s address to the American nation, he cited the still unsubstantiated claim that the internationally recognized and secularist Assad government launched a chemical weapons attack in the Syrian town of Douma. President Trump did not address the lack of legal authority for this attack on another sovereign state.

This is Trump’s second unprovoked attack against the oil-rich nation of Syria of his less than two-year-old presidency. Trump used the same justification of responding to another unsubstantiated alleged chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime within Syria’s own borders when he launched strikes against Syria in April of 2017. Trump called Assad “a monster”, but offered no evidence that the Assad regime was responsible for the alleged chemical attack or that even that such an attack occurred.

Looks Like Trump, Sounds Like Obama

Trump used the press conference as an opportunity to, once again, color the Assad regime as a “dictatorship” and President Bashar al-Assad as a “monster”, citing the unsubstantiated, alleged chemical weapons attacks within Syria’s own borders as proof. Trump stated that the United States is “prepared to sustain this response until the Syrian regime stops it’s use of prohibited chemical agents”.

In his comments, President Trump spun the narrative with the US as a peaceful country “and does not seek an indefinite presence in Syria.” President Trump managed to deliver this nonsense with the conviction of President Obama, another warmonger who Trump once publicly criticized for attacking Syria, despite the fact that the United States has had a “presence” in Syria for several years and has been in Afghanistan and Iraq for over a decade. The fact that the United States has had a “presence” in these countries without a legal right, much less a legitimate moral right, is a lengthy discussion in itself.

Will Russia Respond?

Trump also continued his administration’s recent attempts to paint Russia and Iran as hostile countries. Trump blamed Russia for the alleged Syrian chemical attack and stated that Russia and Iran, as “the two governments most responsible for supporting, equipping and financing the criminal Assad regime”, will have to choose whether they will continue down “this dark path” or join with civilized nations as a force for stability and peace. Of course, President Trump did not mention that Russia, Syria and Iran have all openly been moving to abandon the petro-dollar world reserve currency standard.

Despite warnings from Russia following Syria’s alleged chemical attack in Douma, so far Russia’s response the U.S./U.K./French coalition attack on Syria has been a muted. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that the “strike came just as Syria got the chance for a peaceful future” and blamed “all those who claim moral leadership in this world, who declare their exceptionalism”. But apparently stopped short of actually naming U.S., U.K. or France by name.

Additionally, the Russian Defense Ministry also issued a statement that none of the US and allied missiles entered Russian anti-air defense zones. Russian President Vladimir Putin has yet to address the attack on Syria himself. Will Putin respond, or will he let the limited strike go unanswered?

Convenient Timing

One final note and that’s the timing of all this. In the last two weeks the gun control issue was rearing its head again, Israel was opening killing unarmed Palestinian protesters, the Stormy Daniels story was gaining momentum, and the FBI raided the offices of Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen. Isn’t it convenient that Assad provided the perfect distraction by launching a chemical attack on Douma just days after Donald Trump publicly announced that the U.S. would be leaving Syria soon?

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Resource Links:

• President Trump Delivers an Address to the Nation, White House, April 13, 2018
• Strike on Damascus comes just as Syria got the chance for a peaceful future – Moscow, April 14, 2018
• None of US & allied missiles entered Russian anti-air defense zones – Defense Ministry, April 14, 2018
• Navy Strike Operations Stock Image Credit U.S. Department of Defense, taken by Petty Officer 3rd Class Ford Williams
  • The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.