Posted on 04/07/2017 8:23:01 PM PDT by RC one
The United States has fired nearly 60 Tomahawk missiles at a military airfield in Syria, the first direct military action Washington has taken against Syrian government forces in the six-year-old conflict.
The US said the missiles on Friday severely damaged or destroyed Syrian aircraft and support infrastructure and equipment at the airfield.
US President Donald Trump said he ordered the strikes against Shayrat air base in Homs province, saying it is believed that a suspected gas attack on a town in Idlib province had been launched from there. Trump said he acted in America's "vital national security interest".
World and regional leaders and countries were quick to react to the news.
Russia, which has been bombing rebel-held areas in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad since September 2015, condemned the strikes, saying Washington's action would "inflict major damage on US-Russia ties", according to Russian news agencies.
In its first public response to the attack, the Kremlin labelled the US move as "aggression against a sovereign state in violation of international law".
"Washington's step will inflict major damage on US-Russia ties," Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson of Russian president Vladimir Putin, was quoted as saying.
In contrast, Saudi Arabia said it "fully supports" the strikes, adding that it was a "courageous decision" by Trump in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons against civilians in Khan Sheikhoun.
"A responsible source at the foreign ministry expressed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's full support for the American military operations on military targets in Syria, which came as a response to the Syrian regime's use of chemical weapons against innocent civilians," a statement carried by state news agency SPA said.
The statement said it holds the government of Assad responsible for the deaths of dozens of civilians in Khan Sheikhoun.
Iran, an Assad ally, said it strongly condemned the missile strikes against the Syrian army's Shayrat air base.
"Iran strongly condemns any such unilateral strikes ... such measures will strengthen terrorists in Syria ... and it will complicate the situation in Syria and the region," ISNA news agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi as saying.
Turkey, which hosts three million Syrian refugees, said it views the US missile strikes positively and called for the establishment of a no-fly zone, as well as safe zones, in Syria.
"What happened in Idlib on Tuesday proved again that the bloody Assad regime show complete disregard for the prospect of a political transition and efforts to enforce the ceasefire," read a statement by presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin.
"The destruction of Sharyat airbase marks an important step to ensure that chemical and conventional attacks against the civilian population do not go unpunished."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he supports the "strong and clear message" sent by the US strikes.
The Israeli military said it had been informed in advance of the attack.
"In both word and action, President Trump sent a strong and clear message today that the use and spread of chemical weapons will not be tolerated," a statement from Netanyahu's office said.
"Israel fully supports President Trump's decision and hopes that this message of resolve in the face of the Assad regime's horrific actions will resonate not only in Damascus, but in Tehran, Pyongyang and elsewhere."
European Council President Donald Tusk also voiced support for the missile strikes. "US strikes show needed resolve against barbaric chemical attacks. EU will work with the US to end brutality in Syria," Tusk wrote on his Twitter account.
Britain said the US action was an appropriate response to the "barbaric chemical weapons attack" launched by the Syrian government, according to a spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May.
Italy also gave its support, saying it was a suitable response to Syrian aggression.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull also weighed in, saying that he supported the strike, calling it a "proportionate and calibrated response".
In a televised statement, he also called on Russia to play its part in bringing peace to Syria.
Meanwhile, Bolivia has requested the UN Security Council hold closed-door consultations on Friday about the missile strikes, a senior Security Council diplomat said.
And don’t forget that CNN, Hillary, McLame, Shumer, Graham et al support Trump, too!
ISIS could not be reached for comment.
And don’t forget that CNN, Hillary, McLame, Shumer, Graham et al support Trump, too!
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Well hell, you absolutely, positively KNOW you’ve done the right thing when those guys pat you on the back.
Thank you President Trump for not faking the red button and the redline crap but taking full action! Thank you for making me feel America Will return to being a power house once again! You did this in the face of the Chinese prime minister and you did not relent and you did not retracted .... thank you thank you!! God bless you!!
I knew Trump would see the light. There was no avoiding this and there isn’t anyone that you could have voted for that could have gotten us out of this game and if they tried to get us out of the game, they would be killed or impeached.
and Pelosi and Chuck.
Very sad! Ever have the thought that adolescent adults, without the ability to reason, are running things on the low self esteem, “I’m tougher than you,” bully mentality.
Any adults left in the politik world?
I think he did this to show the Chinese Communists without words,but by deeds, that this was directed at the little fat boy NORK. It sends a message to the Norks, who are a real threat to the USA, that they are not bulletproof.
If the Chinese wont rein him in, he can be by other methods.
That’s how the world works.
That’s all right, you’ve got all that beat. Code Pink is on your side, heh.
Really? How so?
Have any evidence to back it up?
Nope!
I think he did it for a lot of reasons including that one. It made a lot of sense frankly. I think that now that we have ruined our relationship with Russia, we might as well go ahead and kick it up a couple notches. we ought to be conducting hourly flyovers over the Admiral Grigorovich and if they lock on one of our planes, we should sink it.
I wouldn’t assume that this ruins our relationship with Russia. How good was it anyway? This just clarifies the ground from which Trump is willing to negotiate from. Treaties will not be broken and barbarity will not be tolerated.
Workable relationships have to begin on a firm foundation and negotiations always start by laying out terms.
We still have not heard from Assad himself. Should his opinion not been solicited?
Our relationship with Russia is now shot to shiite.
The issued the same sort of statements when we attacked Libya. It’s pro-forma grousing.
Attempting to spread guilt by association won't work in this case—even a broken clock is right twice a day.
This was an example of America showing leadership—the fact that a few "hawks" also supported the action is irrelevant, because that's what hawks always do...
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