WHAT’S BEING CLAIMED:
- President Donald Trump has always been reluctant to criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin.
- On Sunday, Trump slammed Putin and Iran for supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad, whom the U.S. president called “Animal Assad.”
- Trump’s tweets come after a reported government chemical attack in Syria, killing many civilians, mostly children.
A helicopter reportedly dropped a barrel bomb containing sarin, a powerful nerve agent, over Douma in Syria on Saturday. The attack allegedly was carried out by the Syrian government.
The Syrian American Medical Society, a medical relief organization, said that the chemical attack in the last rebel-held Syrian town of eastern Ghouta killed at least 49 people, including babies, young children, and their mothers.
Several groups blamed President Assad’s government for the attack, but the Russian-backed government denied the allegations.
President Trump tweeted his reactions about the recent chemical attack in Syria.
“Many dead, including women and children, in [a] mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria. Area of atrocity is [on] lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad,” he tweeted. “Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK!”
He added, “Big price to pay,” but the president did not clarify if he was referring to the Russian and Iranian governments whom he accuses of backing the oppressive Syrian leader for allegedly carrying out the attack.
In April 2017, Trump ordered a military strike against the Assad government in response to a horrific chemical attack that killed over 70 civilians in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun. Trump has recently mentioned that he would pull out U.S. military forces out of Syria.
“These reports, if confirmed, are horrifying and demand an immediate response by the international community,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.
President Barack Obama was also targeted by Trump on Sunday’s tweets.
“If President Obama had crossed his stated Red Line In The Sand, the Syrian disaster would have ended long ago! Animal Assad would have been history!”
U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley announced Sunday that the U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday to address the “chemical attack” in Syria.
Source: Yahoo
Comment
The so-called chemical attack on Khan Sheikhoun upon investigation was an inadvertent release of a store of agricultural chemicals from bombing of the rebels near the relatively abandoned airfield that drifted downwind, not a sarin attack on civilians.
This assessment was held by our own military intelligence. The missile attack on the relatively inactive base was accommodated to appease Trump’s reaction and resulted in little real costs to Syria or Russia.
There is little real benefit to Assad or Russia to engage in Chemical attacks on civilians and a huge downside.
On the other hand, there is an immense upside for the anti-Assad rebel forces, including Nusra, Al Kaida remnants and ISIS, to maintain US involvement in the effort for Syrian regime change. Sunni countries, especially Saudi Arabia are heavily invested in bringing predominantly Shi’a countries like Syria and Iran to their knees with Israel as a strange bedfellow.
Republicans and Democrats alike are hellbent on the overthrow of Assad and Iran who are supported for the most part by Russia.
There are two many unknowns and risks at play to do a knee jerk reaction to the latest incident before a careful assessment of the facts.