Donald Trump calls on the world to help the US end the devastation which Syria is being exposed to, highlighting that there may be more attacks.

Donald Trump ordered an airstrike after seeing the damage which was caused in Syria; the White House has claimed that, “This is a reaffirmation of America’s moral leadership in the world.”

The airstrike shows a clear difference between Donald Trump and Barack Obama, as Obama had always talked about “red lines” when it came to the use of chemical weapons in Syria, however in contrast to Trump, he didn’t react to them when they occurred.

There is no doubt that Donald Trump’s supporters will feel that the decision shows strong leadership qualities, however his critics may feel that the reaction may have been to sudden and needed further debate.
Trump was quoted saying that his actions were a direct response towards a “vital national security interest” in an attempt to stop the use of chemical weapons on anyone around the world.

Opinions in the US remain divided:

 

 

The airstrike which involved 59 missiles hitting a Syrian airbase has also weakened US-Russia relations, recently a Russian defence ministry statement was read on Russian television and claimed that the US attack had been “ineffective” and claimed Syrian authorities were looking for 36 Tomahawk missiles which fell outside the base and missed the target.

The statement also pointed out that Russia would now stop further cooperation and communication with US forces in Syria.

The question which seems to have come to the forefront after the airstrikes is whether or not there are more strikes to come. A US official has called the strike a “one off” but Donald Trump’s request for other countries to join the US to stop the “bloodshed” seems to say something different.

This attack has put Trump in a direct confrontation for the first time with Putin, a supporter of the Assad regime, who was until now a man the US has stayed impartial about.

In response to the attack, Russia has called it, “aggression against a sovereign state in violation of international law”, with President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman saying he felt that the US had carried out the strikes as part of a “far-fetched pretext”.

In response to this, the US stated, “How many more children have to die before Russia cares?”

It is clear that the American people are not ready for another long military operation; definitely isn’t willing to put troops on the ground at the moment, but how long will they continue to airstrike?

 

The majority of nations seem to be supporting the US military strikes, perhaps suggesting that they will get involved:

BRITAIN:  Revealed that it ‘fully supported’ the strikes, calling them an ‘appropriate response to the barbaric chemical weapons attack’.

JAPAN: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stated that Japan ‘supports the US government’s resolve that it will never tolerate the spread and use of chemical weapons.’

FRANCE/GERMANY:  President Francois Hollande and Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Assad needs to take ‘sole responsibility’ for the US strike following the chemical attack.