What comes next in Syria?

This editorial appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Even when President Donald Trump appears to have done the right thing it can leave you scratching your head.

The unexpected cruise missile attack on a Syrian airbase in response to the despicable President Bashar al-Asad’s use of chemical weapons against his own people was measured and appropriate. In fact, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton earlier recommended the same tactic to keep Assad’s air force from getting off the ground to wage chemical warfare on innocents. But few expected Trump to take that course.

So, what comes next? Trump has been fighting accusations that his election campaign may have colluded with the Russians to help him win the presidency. But his attack on the Syrian airbase is in a sense a rebuke of Russia, which was supposed to have worked out a deal with Assad in 2013 to destroy his chemical weapons arsenal.

Sen. John McCain and Lindsey Graham said Trump should take additional military steps to cripple Assad’s air force. But Trump may not be willing to go that far. Trump must consider the Russian response to any U.S. escalation. This week’s meeting between Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian President Putin should provide some indication of that.

More importantly, Trump must consider the response of the American public. A wave of sympathy for the gassed victims of the murderous Assad will dissipate like the wind if Americans feel their country is being drawn into another long, indecipherable war in the Mideast.