April 10, 2018
Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and his Russian and Iranian supporters, Vladimir Putin and Ayatollah Khamenei, may have done a great favor to President Trump.
The air attack on the Damascus suburb of Douma on April 6th reportedly killed over 40 men, women and children with chlorine gas, considered a weapon of mass destruction and universally banned. Based on Trump’s recent comments expressing his intention to withdraw all US forces from Syria. Al-Assad et al presumably assumed they could get away with this attack unscathed. However, Trump tweeted they would pay a “Big Price” for this heinous action.
His tweet is the equivalent of the infamous “Red Line” comments by Barrack Obama. Weaseling out of this commitment resulted in Russia and Iran greatly expanding Russian and Iranian involvement in Syria. It was the greatest foreign affairs blunder of the Obama presidency.
What to do? Follow the example set by President George H. W. Bush in the First Gulf War and instruct SECDEV General Mattis to prepare the optimal response then stand aside and let our superb military do the work. While the response is being planned, solicit support from our closest allies to contribute to the effort. Presumably, this could involve cruise missiles to cripple Syria’s new Russian air defenses, followed by attacks on military command facilities and perhaps even on Assad’s presidential palaces.
No doubt such attacks will be labeled acts of war against a sovereign nation, however, the Allied mission is not to invade or occupy, only to punish the bullies and help the decimated opponents of one of the most brutal regimes on the planet. Such response would be welcomed by freedom loving people everywhere and is long overdue.
One collateral effect would be to strengthen our position in the forthcoming negotiations with Kin Jong-un on the DPRK nuclear threat. Go for it, Donald. Show them you are not all words and bluster.
Byron Kahrs Varme
