Trump Says 'Something Should Happen' on Assad as White House Mulls Military Options
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday denounced Syria's President Bashar al-Assad as responsible for a "terrible," "egregious" crime, suggesting the United States could be poised to take action over this week's suspected chemical attack.
"What Assad did is terrible. What happened in Syria is truly one of the egregious crimes," Trump said while traveling to Florida on board Air Force One.
"I think what happened in Syria is a disgrace to humanity, and he's there, and I guess he's running things, so I guess something should happen."
Earlier in the day, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Washington would make an "appropriate response" to the suspected chemical attack, while calling for Assad's ouster.
"We are considering an appropriate response (to the) violations of all previous U.N. resolutions, violations of international norms," he said in televised comments at the Palm Beach International Airport in Florida, where he greeted Chinese President Xi Jinping who was arriving for a summit with Trump.
Tillerson did not specify what actions the United States would take.
He added: "Assad's role in the future is uncertain and with the acts that he has taken, it would seem that there would be no role for him to govern the Syrian people."
But Tillerson said that "the process by which Assad would leave is something that will require an international community effort," adding that there needs to be a balance between defeating the Islamic State group and stabilizing Syria to prevent the civil war from escalating further.
Tillerson also issued a warning to Russia that its support of the Assad government is something that it should "consider carefully."
A U.S. official said earlier that the Pentagon is presenting a range of possible military options the United States could take in response to the suspected chemical attack.
Options include strikes to ground the Syrian air force, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Pentagon chief Jim Mattis is presenting the options to Trump and administration officials in response to White House requests, the official added.
Mattis had been communicating extensively with Trump's National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, the official said, stressing that no decisions had been taken.
Trump on Wednesday warned that Assad's regime had crossed a line with its latest alleged chemical attack.
He called the strike that killed at least 86 an "affront to humanity" and suggested some sort of U.S. response.
The Pentagon has long maintained a variety of military options for Syria, and the United States has been striking jihadist targets in the north since late 2014.
But any U.S. military action targeting the Assad regime would mark a fundamental shift in Syria's brutal six-year conflict.
Russia has been propping up Assad since late 2015, and any action to ground his air force could be subject to skirting Russian air defenses and would carry the risk of inadvertently hitting Russian personnel.
But the drumbeat for military action has picked up in Washington.
Senior Republican senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain said Assad was trying to test the Trump administration and that America must take swift action.
"Assad has crossed a line with his latest use of chemical weapons. The message from the United States must be that this will not stand," the pair said in a statement.
"We must show that no foreign power can or will protect Assad now. He must pay a punitive cost for this horrific attack."
Earlier in the day, CNN quoted an informed source as saying that Trump had told some members of Congress that he is “considering military action in Syria” in retaliation for the suspected chemical attack, and recognizes the “seriousness of the situation.”
The source told CNN that Trump had not firmly decided to go ahead with this option but said he was discussing possible actions with Defense Secretary Mattis. Trump is relying on the judgment of Mattis, according to the source.
But a journalistic source accompanying Trump on the plane said Trump denied discussing a possible military action in Syria with members of the Congress, media reports said.
U.S. officials have told CNN the Pentagon has “long-standing options to strike Syria's chemical weapons capability” and has presented those options to the administration. The sources stressed a decision has not been made until the moment.
At least 86 people were killed early on Tuesday in rebel-held Khan Sheikhun in northern Syria and dozens more were being treated after they were found convulsing and foaming at the mouth.
After previous major chemical attacks in Syria in 2013, Trump strongly urged then-president Barack Obama not to order military intervention against Bashar al-Assad's regime.
And he came to office promising both to improve ties with Assad's ally President Vladimir Putin of Russia and to focus U.S. efforts in Syria solely on the defeat of the Islamic State group.
But on Wednesday -- as footage emerged of Syrian children choking to death in agony -- he declared that his view of the conflict had been changed by an attack that "cannot be tolerated."
"It crossed a lot of lines for me," Trump told reporters at a joint White House news conference with Jordan's King Abdullah, alluding to Obama's failure to enforce his own 2013 "red line."
"When you kill innocent children, innocent babies, little babies... that crosses many, many lines, beyond a red line, many, many lines," he warned.
"I will tell you, it's already happened, that my attitude towards Syria and Assad has changed very much... You're now talking about a whole different level."
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, warned Wednesday of unilateral action.
"When the United Nations consistently fails in its duty to act collectively, there are times in the life of states that we are compelled to take our own action," she said.
The warning came during an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council called by France and Britain after the attack.
Britain, France and the United States have presented a draft resolution demanding a full investigation of the attack.
Russia -- along with Iran -- is Syria's main diplomatic and military partner. And Moscow, true to form, said the draft text was "categorically unacceptable."
Failure to agree on a compromise text could prompt Russia to use its veto to block the draft resolution. Moscow has used its veto seven times to shield Syria from U.N. action.
If confirmed, the Khan Sheikhun attack would be among the worst incidents of chemical weapons use in Syria's civil war, which has killed over 320,000 people since it began in March 2011.
Syria officially relinquished its chemical arsenal and signed the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013 to avert military action after it was accused of an attack outside Damascus that killed hundreds.
But there have been repeated allegations of chemical weapons use since.
Source: Agence France Presse, Naharnet, Associated Press
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