WORLD HOLDS ITS BREATH AFTER AMERICAN MISSILES STRIKE ON SYRIA
Trump names kids as reason for bomb raid
SHOCKING images of tiny bodies and a father staggering under the weight of his poisoned children, prompted the US to launch direct military action in Syria yesterday.
A day after warning that this week’s “heinous” chemical attack by government forces on a rebel-held town was a “disgrace to humanity”, US President Donald Trump deployed dozens of Tomahawk missiles from two US destroyers in the Mediterranean.
The decisive strike, six years into a civil war in which the Russian-backed dictator Bashar al-Assad is accused of orchestrating tens of thousands of deaths, was engineered for maximum political impact.
Mr Trump was hours into hosting his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at his Florida golf estate, in a high-stakes summit dogged by growing tension in both the Middle East and Asia.
Speaking shortly after the strikes, Mr Trump called on all civilised nations to “join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria”.
“Tonight, I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched,” he said, from Mara-Lago estate in Palm Beach.
“There can be no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons, violating its obligations under the chemical weapons convention and ignored the urging of the UN Security Council.
“Years of previous attempts of changing Assad’s behaviour have all failed and failed very dramatically. As a result the refugee crisis continues to deepen and the region continues to destabilise, threatening the United States and its allies.
“It is in this vital national security of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons.”
The air strike targeted Shayrat Air Base in Homs Province. US officials said multiple targets were struck by cruise missiles launched from the destroyers USS Ross and USS Porter in the Mediterranean Sea.The 59 Tomahawk missiles were aimed at fighter jets and infrastructure at the base.
The Pentagon said the attack, shortly after 3.30am local time, was timed to avoid mass casualties. Russia had been warned of the strike, according to the Pentagon.
“Military planners took precautions to minimise risk to Russian or Syrian personnel located at the airfield,” a spokesman said.
He said the targets included “hardened aircraft shelters, petroleum and logis- tical storage, ammunition supply bunkers, air defence systems and radars.”
The strike was immediately condemned by Syria as an act of aggression, while it was welcomed by nations including Australia, Israel and some US lawmakers. The UK, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia all ex- pressed cautious support.
Mr Trump acted without Congressional approval and the strike, just 72 hours after Tuesday’s attack, contrasted starkly with that of his predecessor Barack Obama, who considered and then dismissed the notion of military intervention after a similar 2013 chemical attack in Syria.
Mr Trump’s actions a day after he was visibly moved by images of civilians killed in the chemical attack, also marked a dramatic shift in policy for his new administration, which had until this week said it would not intervene in Syria. At least 40,000 people have been killed and 11 million refugees have been created in Syria’s civil war, according to the United Nations.
Five million have left the country, and a further six million are displaced within Syria.
The Assad regime has denied it dropped the chemical weapons, which are widely believed to be a nerve agent such as sarin gas.
Russia said the mass poi-
soning was sparked by an air strike on a rebel-held weapons dump, which included chemical weapons. However, these claims have been dismissed by the US and allies including Australia. The strike has massive implications and the potential to open a new front in the ongoing conflict in the middle east.