Pentagon Prepares Options on Syria after Chemical Attack

Pentagon chief to brief Trump on military options for Syria after Idlib chemical attack.

Washington, 10 Rajab 1438/07 April 2017 (MINA) – The Pentagon is preparing options for the White House on potential military action against Syria in the wake of the deadly chemical attack in the northwestern province of Idlib.

The options include strikes on Syrian military targets and actions designed to ground the Syrian air force, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing US officials.

President Donald Trump declined to say what action the US might take against the Syrian regime.

During his flight to Florida this afternoon for meetings with China President Xi Jinping, Trump told reporters on 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.”

“What Assad did is terrible,” he added.

“What happened in Syria is truly one of the egregious crimes, and it shouldn’t have happened.

And it shouldn’t be allowed to happen.”

Pressed on what action he might take, Trump said: “I don’t want to say what I’m going to be doing with respect to Syria.”

US considering “appropriate response”

After landing in Palm Beach, Florida, as part of the presidential entourage, Secretary of State Tex Tillerson said the US was considering an “appropriate response” to the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons.

“We are considering an appropriate response (to the) violations of all previous UN resolutions, violations of international norms,” Tillerson said.

“The process by which Assad would leave is something that requires an international community effort both to first defeat ISIS within Syria, to stabilize the Syrian country to avoid further civil war and then to work collectively with our partners around the world through a political process that would lead to Assad leaving,” he said Tillerson said there was no doubt that the Syrian regime was responsible for the attack.

“Assad’s role in the future is uncertain, clearly, and with the acts that he has taken it would seem that there would be no role for him to govern the Syrian people,” Tillerson said. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)