[Infowarrior] - U.S. Launches Missile Strike on Syria in Response to Gas Attack

[Richard Forno]

U.S. Launches Missile Strike on Syria in Response to Gas Attack

by
Nick Wadhams
and
Anthony Capaccio
April 6, 2017, 9:17 PM EDT

The U.S. launched a cruise missile attack against Syria two days after Bashar al-Assad’s regime used poison gas to kill scores of civilians, an act that drew international condemnation and that President Donald Trump called “‘an affront to humanity.”

The strike early Friday morning in Syria targeted hangars, planes and fuel tanks at one Syrian military airfield, according to a U.S. official. The U.S. attacked with about 60 Raytheon Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from two Navy destroyers.

The task of military planners was made riskier by the presence of Russian forces in Syria to support Bashar al-Assad’s regime in its battle against rebel groups that include Islamic State and al-Qaeda fighters but also some backed by the U.S.

The decision to strike in Syria marked a stark reversal for Trump, who during his presidential campaign faulted past U.S. leaders for getting embroiled in conflicts in the Middle East. But he said this week that deaths of children among the more that 70 killed in the April 4 attack, images of which were broadcast worldwide, crossed “beyond red lines” and changed his thinking. 

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https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-04-07/u-s-launches-missile-strike-on-syria-in-response-to-gas-attack