Trump: “Big price to pay” for gas attack
T he likelihood of a military strike against Syria after a suspected chemical weapons attack increased Sunday as President Donald Trump said there would be a “big price to pay” and officials in France vowed the country would “do its duty” in responding.
France called for an emergency meeting of the Security Council on Monday to discuss the weekend attack, and eight other nations joined in the request, including the United States and Britain. In reference to a warning by President Emmanuel Macron last month that France would strike unilaterally if Syria used chemical weapons again, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the nation would assume its responsibilities.
Several prominent Republicans urged the president to act — and reconsider his plan to draw down the 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told ABC News’ “This Week” that this is a “defining moment” in Trump’s presidency that demands followthrough. Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, suggested Trump change his mind about withdrawing troops from Syria, place more sanctions on Russia and consider targeted attacks on Syrian facilities, similar to one he ordered a year ago after a chemical attack on civilians.
But even before they spoke, Trump himself hinted that a military strike may be at hand if the use of chemical weapons
Late Sunday, SANA, Syria’s staterun news agency, said that an air base in central Syria was hit by a missile attack and that the military shot down eight missiles. The report said the attack in Homs province “is likely to be an American aggression.”
In a statement, the Pentagon denied the report, saying: “At this time, the Department of Defense is not conducting airstrikes in Syria. However, we continue to closely watch the situation and support the ongoing diplomatic efforts to hold those who use chemical weapons, in Syria and otherwise, accountable.”
The crisis is escalating at a pivotal moment for the White House’s national security team. John Bolton, a noted hawk on Russia and Iran, begins work as Trump’s national security adviser on Monday. On Thursday, CIA Director Mike Pompeo has a confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on his nomination as secretary of state.
Trump also blamed his predecessor for not following through on his threat that Assad’s chemical weapons use was a red line that would not be tolerated, something that Trump suggested he would not repeat.
“If President Obama had crossed his stated Red Line In The Sand, the Syrian disaster would have ended long ago! Animal Assad would have been history!” he tweeted.
Echoing Trump, Vice President Mike Pence tweeted that U.S. officials were monitoring the events. “The Assad regime & its backers MUST END their barbaric behavior,” he added. “As POTUS said, big price to pay for those re sponsible!”
Syria and its main backers, Russia and Iran, are not only denying responsibility, they question whether there even was a chemical attack. The Syrian state news agency SANA said the reports originated with “terrorists” who are on the verge of collapse under an offensive.
“Such allegations and accusations by the Americans and certain Western countries signal a new conspiracy against the Syrian government and people, and a pretext for military action,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
And Russia’s Foreign Ministry released a statement claiming that information on the reported attack is a tactic being used to cover up for terrorists.
“The goal of these false conjectures, which are without basis, are designed to shield the terrorists and the implacable radical opposition, who reject a political settlement,” the statement said.
The suspected poison gas attack on the last remaining foothold for the Syrian opposition in the eastern suburbs of Damascus killed at least 40 people, including families found in their homes and shelters, opposition activists and local rescuers said Sunday.
The attack on the besieged town of Douma came almost exactly a year after a chemical attack in the northern Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun killed dozens of people. That attack prompted the U.S. to launch several dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian air base.
First responders entering apartments in Douma late Saturday said they found bodies collapsed on floors, some foaming at the mouth. The opposition’s Syrian Civil Defense rescue organization said the victims appeared to have suffocat ed.
They did not identify the substance used, but the civil defense organization, also known as the White Helmets, and the Syrian American Medical Society, a medical relief organization, said survivors smelled strongly of chlorine.
Those reports could not be independently verified because of a government blockade around the town.
Hours after the attack, the Army of Islam rebel group agreed to surrender the town and evacuate their fighters to rebelheld northern Syria, Syrian state media reported. The group also agreed to give up its prisoners, a key demand of the government.
The crisis over Syria is likely to accelerate the downward spiral of the relationship between Russia and the United States, already at its lowest point in decades. On Friday, the administration placed economic sanctions on some of Putin’s richest cronies. The sanctions give the United States a potent weapon to pressure international financial institutions not to lend money or facilitate transactions by the wellconnected Russians.
“Whatever was driving Trump to leave Putin alone, it’s over,” said Cliff Kupchan, chairman of the Eurasia Group, an analytical firm. “Over the course of 48 hours, Trump basically sanctioned the Russian system and fingered Putin for backing the ‘Animal Assad.’
“If the U.S. confirms chemical weapons were used, I think we get a strike on Syria.”
Assad has never been a priority for Trump. Though he called him a “bad guy,” he repeatedly said on the campaign trail and in the White House that Assad is not a U.S priority.