Trump weighs options on Syria

Possible responses after chemical attack include another missile strike

WASHINGTON – Less than two weeks after declaring his intention to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, President Donald Trump said Monday that he will decide soon how to respond to a chemical weapons attack attributed to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government – options that include the kind of missile strike Trump authorized last year.

“We’ll be making some major decisions over the next 24 to 48 hours,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting a day after saying there would be “a big price to pay” by Syria and Assad. “This is about humanity ... and it can’t be allowed to happen.”

Trump planned to meet Monday with top military advisers to discuss the “heinous,” “atrocious” and “horrible” attack whose victims included children of anti-Assad rebels.

The Trump administration has also asked the United Nations Security Council to authorize an independent inquiry into the reported chemical weapons attacks. Syria has denied involvement.

International officials, meanwhile, worked Monday to review claims by Syrian opposition leaders that Assad’s government was behind a poison gas attack that killed at least 40 people in a rebel-held town near Damascus.

In addition to Assad and Syria, Trump and his aides have criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government for not monitoring Syrian. They have also blamed Iran for its support of the Syrian regime.

In terms of responsibility, Trump said: “If it’s the Russians, if it’s Syria, if it’s Iran, if it’s all of them together, we’ll figure it out.”

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, in brief remarks Monday morning, pointed first at Russia for its failure to corral Syria’s use of chemical weapons and promised allied action to confront it.

Some lawmakers who are calling for a strike on Syria also faulted Trump for his call for a withdrawal from Syria.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Trump’s “premature” declaration emboldened Assad to strike at the rebels.