Trump trip scrapped to plot Syria strike
DONALD Trump could launch a military assault on Syria as soon as this week after cancelling plans to travel overseas and deploying an aircraft carrier to the Gulf.
The President was due to travel to South America on Friday but will now stay in the US to ‘oversee the American response to Syria’.
US defence secretary Jim Mattis also cleared his diary in a strong indication the country was preparing for an imminent strike on President Assad’s forces.
Kay Hutchison, US Permanent Representative to Nato, last night said: ‘[Russia] should do something to stop this kind of genocide. I think a military response is appropriate.’
Asked how to stop it, she told Sky News: ‘I think
we do everything we can with the tools we have. I believe a military response, taking out perhaps some of the places where these missions are taking place, with the bases from which they are flying to drop chemical weapons, I think that is an appropriate response.’
Officials noted concerns that any military action carried out by the US could have complicated repercussions given Russian and Iranian involvement in the region.
Amid the tough talk from the White House, the US military appeared to be in position to carry out any attack order. A Navy destroyer, the USS Donald Cook, was in the eastern Mediterranean on Monday after completing a port call in Cyprus.
Also, the Navy said the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier and its strike group would depart from Norfolk, Virginia, today for a regularly scheduled deployment to Europe.
Mr Trump had been due to attend a Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru, and travel to Bogota, Colombia.
White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, said: ‘The President will remain in the United States to oversee the American response to Syria and to monitor developments around the world.’ Vicepresident Mike Pence will make the trip in Mr Trump’s place. Moscow has cautioned the US not to launch an attack.
In recent weeks the Russian military has reportedly begun jamming some smaller US drones operating in the skies over Syria. According to four US officials speaking to NBC news, this has affected American military operations. ÷ Donald Trump’s homeland security adviser is resigning in the latest administration departure. Thomas Bossert was said to be leaving his post and Mr Trump was ‘grateful for Tom’s commitment to the safety and security of our great country’.