US launches missile strike on Syria in response to ‘chemical’ attack: HumSub.TV
US launches missile strike on Syria in response to ‘chemical’ attack: HumSub.TV: US President Donald Trump ordered a massive military strike on a Syrian air base Thursday, in retaliation for a “barbaric” chemical attack he blamed on President Bashar al-Assad.
In a brief televised address delivered hours after the UN Security Council failed to agree on a probe into the apparent chemical attack, Trump confirmed the first American targeted strike against Assad´s regime.
Declaring it in America´s “vital national security interest” to prevent the spread of deadly chemical weapons, Trump accused Assad of a “very barbaric attack” in which “even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered.”
“Tonight I call on all civilized nations to join us in seeking to end this slaughter and bloodshed in Syria and also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types,” Trump said.
Trump´s visceral reaction to the suspected sarin attack prompted a swift and massive response, with the US firing 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Shayrat Airfield at 8:40 pm Eastern Time (0040 GMT), according to officials.
The missiles were fired from the USS Porter and the USS Ross, which belong to the US Navy´s Sixth Fleet and are located in the eastern Mediterranean.
The strike targeted radars, aircraft, air defense systems and other logistical components at the military base south of Homs in central Syria, from where Washington believes Tuesday´s deadly strike was launched.
Syrian state television called the US strike “an act of aggression,” quoting a military source saying there had been unspecified losses.
The swift US military action against the Assad regime marks a stunning development in Syria´s brutal, six-year conflict and a sudden about-face for Trump.
It came despite a warning from Russia of potential “negative consequences” if Washington strikes Syria.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accused Russia — which props up the Assad regime and agreed to mothball Syrian chemical weapons in a 2013 deal — of being incompetent or complicit in permitting Assad´s actions.
A White House official said that Tillerson and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis had liaised with allies about the military strike.
Trump, who is currently hosting Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago resort, informed the Chinese leader personally.
But there was no such warning for President Vladimir Putin. Instead Russian military officials in Syria were informed of the strikes beforehand in order to avoid casualties that could prompt a broader crisis.
White House and military officials at Mar-a-Lago watched this first major military and foreign policy gambit of Trump administration from a stuffy tent that served as the temporary Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility — or SCIF.
Limited aims
The White House was quick to paint the decision as limited to deterring the use of chemical weapons, and not part of a broader military campaign to remove Assad by force.
“The intent was to deter the regime from doing this again, and it is certainly our hope that this has had that effect,” Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis told reporters.
“It will be the regime´s choice if there´s any more (strikes) and it will be based upon their conduct going forward.”
But the strike will send ripples around the world, from Pyongyang to Tehran, as nations and leaders take the measure of the neophyte but often bellicose president.
The timing of the strike, during a meeting with President Xi, will give weight to Trump´s threats to deal with North Korea´s nuclear and missile programs unilaterally if necessary.
That is a point of contention with Beijing, which would rather go softly-softly with its volatile neighbor.
Tillerson said the attack should leave no one in any doubt that Trump is willing to act if any actor “crosses the line.”
The US top diplomat had earlier vowed an “appropriate response” to the attack in Khan Sheikhun in rebel-held Idlib province, which killed at least 86 people, including 27 children, and injured more than 500.
Trump is likely to face questions from Congress about the legality of the strike, which unlike previous attacks against Islamic State group targets in Syria, targeted the Syrian regime and could be considered an act of war.
One official pointed to Article two of the constitution, which allows the president to use force to defend the US national interest.
Here is a transcript of US President Donald Trump´s remarks Thursday night after ordering a massive missile strike against a Syrian air base:
“My fellow Americans: On Tuesday, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad launched a horrible chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians.
“Using a deadly nerve agent, 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 in this very barbaric attack. No child of God should ever suffer such horror.
“Tonight, I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched. 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 UN Security Council.
“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.
“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.
“Goodnight. And God bless America and the entire world. Thank you.”
Syrian state television called a US strike on a Syrian airbase an act of aggression on Friday, quoting a military source saying there had been unspecified losses.
“US act of aggression against Syrian military targets, using several missiles,” the channel said in a news alert soon after the US announced the strike.
“One of our air bases in the centre of the country was targeted at dawn by a missile fired by the United States, causing loses,” the station then quoted a military source as saying. The source provided no further details on the nature of the losses.
“This American aggression follows the slanderous media campaign by some countries… after what happened in Khan Sheikhun,” state news agency SANA said, referring to the town in northwestern Syria where a suspected chemical attack killed dozens of civilians this week.
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