Call on hitting Syria is due in 48 hours
PRESIDENT TRUMP announced Monday that the U.S. will respond to a deadly chemical attack in Syria within the next 48 hours, as the White House faulted Russia, Iran and the Assad regime for the “heinous” act.
“We are very concerned when a thing like that can happen,” Trump told reporters during a morning cabinet meeting. “We’re talking about humanity, and it can’t be allowed to happen.”
Earlier Monday, Defense Secretary James Mattis said he won’t “rule out anything right now,” including an air strike.
The response could be a repeat of a year ago, when Trump sent 59 Tomahawk missiles into Syria after claims that Bashar Assad’s government had used chemical weapons on a rebel-held city.
Sunday’s chemical attack in the rebel-held town of Douma left 40 people dead, according to opposition activists and local rescue teams. Entire families were killed in their homes and underground shelters, activists said.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders didn’t mince words about who was to blame for the bloody attack.
“Russia and Iran bear responsibility for these acts since they would not be possible without their support,” Sanders told reporters. “There will be a price to pay.”
The Assad regime and Russia have denied knowledge of the attack, but Trump questioned the denial, noting that the Kremlin has assisted Assad (photo) in blocking international medical teams from entering the war-torn country.
“If they’re innocent, why aren’t they allowing people to go in and improve?” Trump said. “So if it’s Russia, if it’s Syria, if it’s Iran, if it’s all of them together, we’ll figure it out.”
Trump’s promise to respond came amid accusations that a pair of Israeli fighter jets launched rockets at a Syrian airfield early Monday.
Three of the 14 people killed in the strike were Iranian soldiers that the country says were there advising Syrian forces.
Israel, a close ally of the U.S., has not confirmed that it was behind the airfield strike. The White House declined to comment on the attack, only noting that “the United States is not conducting air strikes in Syria.”