When President Trump said on Wednesday that the #chemical attack in #Syria had "crossed a lot of lines for me" nobody imagined that this seemingly impromptu remark could actually inspire a whole #Syria military strategy, one that looks to be gaining momentum by the hour. Indeed late on Thursday, foreign policy experts said that President Trump may risk appearing to be weak, temperamental and ineffective if he doesn’t actually do anything after such a strong reaction.
And so now the highest ranking Defense Department officials are brainstorming and tabling options for a #military strike in a heated response to the deadly attack that killed dozens of young, old and unarmed civilians in the small town in the embattled part of northern Syria on Tuesday, as told by officials to the New York Times.
Rex Tillerson talks
As the war machine is potentially getting ready to roll into action, Secretary of State #Rex Tillerson is also talking about the devastating chemical weapons attack in Syria, sending a solid and angry message to Syria by saying that there would be absolutely no reason for #Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to remain as the leading power of his country.
But with all the messaging being communicated on Wednesday, officials said that researching and devising military opportunities for the President didn't actually mean that Donal Trump or his advisors had actually made a decision to escalate US military participation in #Syria. Developing such military operations is one of the core responsibilities of the #Pentagon, and is an activity that the organization carries out even during times of peace.
According to high-level US intelligence sources and operatives, the US is confident that the chemical attack was implemented by a #Syrian government aircraft, this as a senior official told the New York Times. The attack, carried out in a part of northern #Syria held by rebels, involved the deadly and illicit nerve agent called Sarin, this as explained by a Turkish Government statement that was broadcast on Thursday to the world.
This Turkish statement was the most comprehensive and detailed description of the presumed Assad attack so far, and many of the injured and effected Syrians were in fact taken to Turkey after the offensive. Getting reliable and solid data and research out of the beleaguered country can be difficult since there are so many factions and organizations working - and fighting - within the hot zones.
This, and the large scale destruction of infrastructure and other necessities also pose a huge problem for Western leaders trying to get an accurate picture of what is going on.
Critics doubt that military action can do much
But critics voiced on Thursday their doubts about the Oval Office's growing predilection for another #complicated war. They claim that if attacking Syria was such a fait d'accompli, then #President Obama would have carried out such an operation in his tenure in the White House. These same critics are saying that Trump won't be able to resist the pull of an increased war machine in Syria.
#President Trump now has a range of choices if he chooses to escalate the conflict with Syria.
And now the rest of the world is watching with baited breath to see what direction the United States of American moves in. At one end would be cruise missile strikes launched from American warships in an effort to retaliate and to destroy Syrian radar equipment which helps them navigate many elements; another option would be more severe actions that fall just short of an outright declaration of war, with days of airstrikes to take out the Assad government’s integrated air defense systems which are placed in strategic positions.
