Russian hotline set up for airstrikes
U.S. revealing locations targeted for military response to chemical attacks to avoid bloodshed
— Planned airstrikes on Syria are being co-ordinated with Russia via a hotline, it emerged yesterday, as British Prime Minister Theresa May reassured her cabinet that any military response to last week’s chemical attack will not escalate into war.
The U.S. has identified eight potential targets in Syria, it was reported, as the Kremlin claimed that a secure hotline for the U.S. and Russia to discuss operations in Syria was “active” and being used by both sides.
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, expects allied forces to reveal the location of the targets in advance, to avoid bloodshed and restrict damage to legitimate military assets.
According to reports in the U.S., the targets selected include two Syrian airfields, a research centre and a chemical weapons facility. The strikes would be in response to last Saturday’s gas attack on Douma, a rebel-held town outside Damascus, in which more than 40 civilians, including children, were killed.
Syrian government forces raised their flag in Douma on Thursday, taking full control in a victory for Bashar al-Assad, the president.
During a two-hour emergency cabinet meeting yesterday, May secured the backing of ministers to join an international response “to deter the further use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime,” Downing Street said.
The U.S. is moving 10 warships and two submarines into position armed with up to 700 Tomahawk cruise missiles, while May has ordered at least one British submarine to the area with a capability to fire up to 38 Tomahawks against regime targets.
In the U.S., President Donald Trump appearing to be back-pedalling on statements he tweeted earlier in the week suggesting airstrikes targeting Syria were imminent.
He said yesterday that an attack on Syria could happen “very soon or not so soon at all,” while U.S. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis warned such an attack carried the risk of spinning out of control, suggesting caution ahead of a final decision.
American officials have acknowledged that the U.S., France and Britain have been in extensive consultations about a military strike that could come as early as the end of this week. A joint military operation, possibly with France rather than the U.S. in the lead, could send a message of international unity about enforcing prohibitions on chemical weapons.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a brief statement after Trump met with Mattis and other members of his National Security Council: “No final decision has been made. We are continuing to assess intelligence and are engaged in conversations with our partners and allies.”
Sanders said Trump would speak later with French President Emmanuel Macron and May.
Macron said Thursday that France has proof that the Syrian government launched chlorine gas attacks and said France would not tolerate “regimes that think everything is permitted.”
Mattis said that although the U.S. has no hard proof, he believes the Syrian government was responsible for the attack on Douma. Initial reports indicated the use of chlorine gas, possibly in addition to the nerve agent Sarin, he said.
Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, told NBC News on Thursday the administration has “enough proof ” of the chemical attack but was still considering its response.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, based in the Netherlands, announced it was sending a fact-finding team to the site of the attack. It was due to arrive Saturday. It wasn’t clear whether the presence of the investigators could affect the timing of any coalition military action.
Speaking before a U.S. House Armed Services Committee hearing, Mattis said he personally believes Syria is guilty of an “inexcusable” use of chemical weapons, but suggested the international fact-finding team would likely fall short of determining who was responsible.
Asked about the risks of military retaliation, he cited two concerns, starting with avoiding civilian casualties.
“On a strategic level, it’s how do we keep this from escalating out of control, if you get my drift on that,” he said.
At stake in Syria is the potential for confrontation, if not outright conflict, between the U.S. and Russia, former Cold War foes whose relations have deteriorated in recent years over Moscow’s intervention in Ukraine, its interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and its support for Assad.