Seeking to delay the Syria strike would have given succour to Assad and the conspiracy theorists
SIR – Many dislike President Donald Trump’s style, and others, like the Rev Dr John Cameron (Letters, April 16), find his tweets almost beyond belief.
Yet demanding a delay while parliamentary endorsement was sought – when the release on April 4 of chemical agents necessitated a measured, accurate and timely military response – would merely have given more opportunity to those claiming that the incident was staged by the White Helmets to argue for the maintenance of the status quo. Israel had no such qualms in mounting its missile attack immediately.
Both the Israeli and the Allied responses have now reminded President Bashar al-assad in terms which even he cannot ignore that further transgressions will be similarly punished. Having served for over 27 years in two armies (one Middle Eastern) and under two flags, I applaud Theresa May’s resolve
Lt-col Nicholas Cooper (retd) Barford St Martin, Wiltshire
SIR – Where, in the democratic Western world, is any state seriously questioning the judgment of Britain, France and the United States in making their attacks on Syria’s chemical weapon capabilities? Only in our own Parliament do we suffer useful idiots who are allowed this unpatriotic soapbox. Mike Ostick
Upton-upon-severn, Worcestershire
SIR – Jeremy Corbyn has continued to question the legality of our attack on chemical warfare facilities in Syria while he refuses to condemn Hamas and Hezbollah attacks on Israel.
One has to wonder at how his brain works, when the rest of the world blames Russia for the Skripal poisonings and he alone takes the stance that it cannot be proved. This man and his supporters are a danger to the security and the economy of this country.
The Labour Party, instead of heading down the road of obtaining power at any cost, should be looking for a way to divest themselves of this Marxist dinosaur. Trevor Anderson
Wadhurst, East Sussex
SIR – Mr Corbyn calls continually for “incontrovertible proof ” to determine Assad’s guilt.
What’s wrong with proof “beyond reasonable doubt”, which, I understand, has served us for centuries in determining criminal cases. Fred Bearryman
Woolavington, Somerset
SIR – How dare we interfere with Russia’s interference? Peter Cowey
Ponteland, Northumberland
SIR – If Jeremy Corbyn had faced the Nazi threat in 1940, would he have invited Hitler to negotiate a political solution? Tim Tinsley-wickes
Grayshott, Surrey
SIR – I am most surprised that Mrs May has not been asked to explain to the EU her decision to authorise British missile strikes on Syria. Simon Mcilroy
Croydon, Surrey
SIR – “We are mad, not only individually but nationally. We check manslaughter and isolated murders, but what of war and the muchvaunted crime of slaughtering whole peoples?”
Two thousand years ago Seneca reflected on the very matters that have consumed the minds of right-thinking men, through all eras of humanity to the present day. Frank Sloan
Rochester, Kent
SIR – Why is Nicola Sturgeon commenting on the Syrian situation? Foreign affairs are entirely reserved to Westminster; hers is an exclusively domestic remit.
Imagine the reverse – that Theresa May criticised the SNP establishment on a devolved matter. Martin Redfern
Edinburgh
SIR – It is interesting to read that, before launching strikes against the Assad regime, Mrs May consulted David Cameron and was offered his full support (report, April 15).
It would be useful to know whether the Prime Minister has been having similar consultations with her predecessor in connection with her negotiations with the EU over Brexit. Dr Max Gammon
London SE16