The U.S. military launched its first direct attack at the Syrian government on Thursday, marking an escalation of American involvement in the country’s six-year civil war.
After two days of deliberation, President Donald Trump authorized the military to launch 59 cruise missiles at the Shayrat Air Base in Syria, Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said. The move was conducted in retaliation for a chemical weapon attack in the opposition-held town of Khan Sheikhoun on Tuesday, allegedly carried out by Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime. The chemical weapon attack, which killed at least 70 people, was conducted from the Shayrat base, Davis said.
“Assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children,” Trump said Thursday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. “Even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered at this very barbaric attack. No child of God should ever suffer such horror.”
Trump said the attack was in the “national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons.” He called on “civilized nations” to join in seeking to “end the slaughter and bloodshed” in Syria.
The Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles were launched from destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, allowing the U.S. to strike targets without putting piloted aircraft in danger in Syrian airspace. The missiles targeted aircraft, hardened aircraft shelters, petroleum and logistical storage, ammunition supply bunkers, air defense systems, and radar, Davis said. “Initial indications are that this strike has severely damaged or destroyed Syrian aircraft and support infrastructure and equipment ... reducing the Syrian government’s ability to deliver chemical weapons.”
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) told MSNBC, “There are no current plans for additional strikes.” Schiff, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, was briefed Thursday night by Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats.
While the Syrian government has denied responsibility for this week’s chemical attack, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Thursday the Trump administration had “no doubt” that the regime controlled byAssad was behind it. When asked by The New York Times if the U.S. would support efforts to remove Assad from power, Tillerson said “those steps are underway” ― a stark departure from the administration’s previous position.
Trump, meanwhile, said Thursday that “something should happen” in response to the attack, but he did not explicitly call for Assad’s removal.
“I think what Assad did is terrible,” Trump told reporters earlier this week. “I think what happened in Syria is a disgrace to humanity, and he’s there, and I guess he’s running things, so something should happen.”
Trump’s decision to intervene militarily in Syria is a stark departure from his campaign promise to work with Russia, Assad’s main backer, to fight the Islamic State and negotiate an end to the civil war in Syria. Although the Assad regime has been accused of carrying out several chemical weapon attacks throughout the war, Trump previously described the dictator as an unsavory but stable ruler. Photos of the victims of the most recent attack, including many children, appeared to alter Trump’s position on the U.S. role in the conflict.
It is not clear what ― if any ― legal authority Trump is claiming to strike the Assad regime. The U.S. has claimed authority to bomb ISIS in Syria under the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force by claiming that ISIS is an offshoot of al Qaeda. But there is no war authorization from Congress that could be interpreted to allow military action against the Syrian government, nor can the U.S. claim it is defending itself. When former President Barack Obama considered a similar retaliatory strike against the Assad regime in 2013, he made it clear he would first seek approval from Congress.
The U.S.’ unilateral strike against the Assad regime will undoubtedly spark tension with Russia. Moscow has supported Syria both politically and militarily for years and launched an air campaign to support Assad in September 2015.
According to Davis, the Pentagon spokesman, Russian forces were notified in advance of the strike using an established “deconfliction line.” The U.S. took precautions to “minimize risk to Russian or Syrian personnel located at the airfield,” he said. Davis did not indicate whether the strike resulted in any casualties.
While Trump staunchly opposed intervention in Syria before he became president, and has tried to bar Syrian refugees from entering the U.S. since taking office, the president appeared to reverse course this week.
“Numerous previous attempts at changing Assad’s behavior have all ... failed very dramatically,” Trump said Thursday. “As a result, the refugee crisis continues to deepen and the region continues to destabilize, threatening the United States and its allies.” The president did not indicate whether he would adjust his stance on banning Syrian refugees.
Since the start of the conflict in March 2011, more than 207,000 civilians have died in the fighting, including 24,000 children. A sarin gas attack by the Syrian army on the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta in 2013 left more than 1,000 people dead, and human rights organizations have documented several smaller chemical attack since then.
U.S. policy in Syria has for years primarily focused on attacking the self-described Islamic State (also called ISIS) and offering military support to Kurdish militias that are taking territory away from the extremist group. Hundreds of U.S. troops are currently in Syria to support an upcoming advance on the ISIS-held city of Raqqa. Last month, The Washington Post reported that the U.S. would deploy up to 1,000 more troops in northern Syria.
Prior to the attack, the Trump White House had effectively abandonedthe goal of removing Assad from power. But the use of chemical weapons against civilians shifted Trump’s attitude on U.S. policy, the president said Wednesday.
“That attack on children yesterday had a big impact on me. Big impact. That was a horrible, horrible thing,” he said Wednesday. “And I’ve been watching it and seeing it, and it doesn’t get any worse than that. And I have that flexibility, and it’s very, very possible, and I will tell you, it’s already happened, that my attitude toward Syria and Assad has changed very much.”
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