Syria’s chemical assault changes Trump’s mind
President says deadly strike altered his views on Assad, but won’t specify his plans
WASHINGTON— U.S. President Donald Trump says the chemical attack in Syria has changed his views about the country and its president, Bashar Assad — but he will not say what he thinks now.
Trump’s extraordinary remarks Wednesday raised the prospect of further American intervention in the long-running war he had, as a civilian, urged predecessor Barack Obama to avoid. But it was entirely unclear what he planned to do, as he insisted it would be better to retain the power of surprise than declare his intentions.
“I do change, and I am flexible, and I’m proud of my flexibility, and I will tell you that attack on children yesterday had a big impact on me. Big impact. That was a horrible, horrible thing,” he said at a White House news conference with King Abdullah II of Jordan.
“And I’ve been watching it and seeing it, and it doesn’t get any worse than that. And I have that flexibility, and it’s very, very possible, and I will tell you it’s already happened, that my attitude toward Syria, and Assad, has changed very much.”
Pressed to express a message to Assad’s regime, Trump said, “You will see. They will have a message.”
As usual, it was not immediately obvious the extent to which Trump’s words were likely to be translated into policy. His musings have frequently been ignored even by his own cabinet secretaries.
But his words represented yet another shift in rhetoric, if not yet action. As a candidate, Trump said he would tolerate Assad because, he claimed, Assad was fighting terrorists. And Trump’s administration had signalled less than a week prior that the U.S. was no longer interested in attempting to get Assad to leave power.
“Do we think he’s a hindrance? Yes. Are we going to sit there and focus on getting him out? No,” U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley told reporters on Thursday.
On Wednesday, though, Haley told the UN Security Council: “When the United Nations consistently fails in its duty to act collectively, there are times in the life of states that we are compelled to take our own action.
“How many more children have to die before Russia cares?” she asked, staring at the Russian ambassador.
The chemical attack killed at least 75 people and sent dozens more to hospitals in the opposition-held northwestern province of Idlib.
“I will tell you that attack on children yesterday had a big impact on me. Big impact. That was a horrible, horrible thing.” U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP
Survivors said the toxic substance had been dropped from planes; unnamed U.S. government officials told Reuters they believed it was the nerve agent sarin, though they have not yet provided proof.
Trump has sent mixed signals on foreign intervention as a candidate and as a new president, simultaneously complaining that the U.S. has needlessly spent money in the Middle East and vowing to get tougher on Daesh, also known as ISIS and ISIL.
He has already approved the deployment of more than 400 additional troops to Syria in advance of the looming battle for Daesh’s selfproclaimed capital, Raqqa.
“When you kill innocent children, innocent babies, babies, little babies, with a chemical gas that is so lethal people were shocked to hear what gas it was, that crosses many, many lines,” Trump said.