Syria attacked ‘just as it had a chance for peace’ – Moscow

First he promised to withdraw United States forces, which would eliminate what little military leverage we have with Syria (and Turkey), and then he telegraphed the kind of feckless missile strike he seems intent on carrying out sometime in the coming hours or days.

The United States, along with assurance from France and the United Kingdom, launched a response Friday against the regime of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad days after his government allegedly used chemical weapons on its citizens. They were launched just before 9 p.m. ET in coordination with Britain and France, according to General Joseph Dunford. “They are crimes of a monster“, he said. “America does not seek an indefinite presence in Syria”, he said.

Describing the strike as a deterrent, Trump said the United States would maintain pressure on Syria until the Assad regime suspends use of chemical weapons.

But that doesn’t mean these strikes aren’t without risk – far from it. “Right now this is a one-time shot”, he said.

Defense Secretary James Mattis said the number of weapons used was “a little over double” that of a 2017 air strike on Syria which involved 59 Tomahawk missiles.

The US president, who has tried to build good relations with Russian president Vladimir Putin, had sharply critical words for Russia and Iran over their support of Assad.

“A pre-designed scenario is being implemented”.

But for Washington to stop Assad from killing his own citizens more broadly, “we’re getting closer to a regime-change scenario because he’s bombing nearly every day, ” said Ford, the former United States ambassador.

Mr Mattis said the U.S. remained in “close consultation” with its allies, adding: “We review the evidence all the time”.

Russian Federation is likely to call for a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss US, British and French air strikes on Syria, one of its lawmakers says.

“We know there are only certain countries, like Syria, that have delivery mechanisms and have those types of weapons”. “Now Washington has used the media instead of the vial”, she said, referring to the 2003 U.S. invasion in Iraq and then-Secretary of State Colin Powell’s “anthrax vial” demonstration to illustrate the allegations that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

Mattis said, “This military facility was a Syrian center for the research, development, production, and testing of chemical and biological warfare technology”.

She said: “This persistent pattern of behaviour must be stopped – not just to protect innocent people in Syria from the horrific deaths and casualties caused by chemical weapons but also because we can not allow the erosion of the global norm that prevents the use of these weapons”. Syrian media claimed that air defences hit 13 rockets south of Damascus.

Assad gives an exclusive interview in Damascus.

A Syrian opposition official, Hadi Al Bahra, also tweeted “the first missile targeted an area in Mount Qasioun”.

Syrian television reported that Syria’s air defenses, which are substantial, have responded to the attack.

“And a significant body of information including intelligence indicates the Syrian regime is responsible for this latest attack”.

The army said almost 110 missiles hit targets in the capital Damascus and other territory, and air defense systems brought a lot of them down.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the USA strikes had hit the Syrian capital when the country “finally” had a chance at peace.

“Assad as a person and his henchmen need to feel they are a target, if they continue this pain and suffering of the people”, he said.

There are about 2,000 USA troops in Syria, advising forces fighting against Islamic State fighters clinging to ever-shrinking territory, particularly along the border with Iraq.

The targets of that strike included Syrian aircraft, aircraft shelters, petroleum and logistical storage facilities, ammunition supply bunkers, air defense systems and radar.

– “The goal of our actions tonight is to establish a strong deterrent against the production, spread and use of chemical weapons“.

Steven P. Bucci, a retired Army Special Forces officer and former top Pentagon official who is a visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation’s Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies, said the strikes may put a dent in Assad’s ability to use chemical weapons against Syrians. “The Assad regime didn’t get the message past year”.

Graphic images of small children being treated by medics and bodies foaming at the mouth circulated after the attack. Dozens of civilians were killed April 7 in a suspected poison gas attack on the final rebel stronghold outside Damascus. Syrians crowded onto the streets in noisy demonstrations of defiance afterward and their ally Russian Federation denounced the attack.

Earlier this week, missiles were launched at the T-4 airbase in central Homs Governorate.

In the days leading up to the US attack, Russian Federation had warned that it would defend its troops in Syria.

Three waves of overnight strikes destroyed important infrastructure at sites connected with the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons programme.

An extended U.S. air campaign to destroy Tehran’s military assets in the country would send the message that we will not tolerate its attempt to colonise Syria and threaten its neighbours.