Missiles are not the answer to the Syrian question

DONALD Trump last week did what he said he would never do by taking the US further into the cauldron of war in Syria.

There is nothing new, of course, in the current US President having a change of mind, just as there is nothing new in Trump using any means at his disposal to enhance his own political position. For that reason, perhaps, it’s understandable, as our foreign coverage makes clear today, that there is plenty to be sceptical about in Trump’s motives.

Politically under the cosh at home, his decisive action this week has succeeded, for now, in pushing more pressing challenges – like the investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 election – into the sidelines.

It is said, too, that Trump’s reason for ordering the missile strike on Syria was motivated by news reports he saw showing the suffering of civilian victims. Perhaps this is accurate, but any emotional response, no matter how well-meaning, has to be accompanied by a thought-through strategy that aims to militate against causing yet more violence, suffering and a perpetuation of the war in Syria.

Few would disagree that a suitably punitive measure was needed in response to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s use of what looks like the nerve gas sarin against his own people. Yet it is worth bearing in mind that conventional weapons have been by far the major cause of civilian casualties in Syria without invoking the same military response from the US or other western nations.

Until now, Trump has shown no interest in working to end Syria’s civil war. On a wider level, too, the US air strikes have thrown up uncertainty over Washington’s hoped-for rapprochement with Moscow, which can only lead to greater risks in the Middle East.

The real test now will be to see how both Trump and the international community keep the pressure on the Syrian regime over its use of chemical weapons, without making an already appalling conflict even worse. If any leverage has been gained over the Damascus regime by last week’s action then it must be followed up by renewed diplomatic efforts.

More missiles will not help in the elusive search for peace in Syria.