As we reported on Friday evening, the joint attack on Syrian targets by American, British, and French forces ended as quickly as it started. The attack was in retaliation for the attack on April 7 by Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad on civilians in Douma, using chemical weapons.
The attack occurred at 4 a.m. Syrian time and was over in minutes. 105 missiles were launched, striking three Syrian chemical weapons targets. The military said that all missiles reached their target, and denied Syrian claims that most (or any) were shot down.
The attack was “one and done,” according to Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. However, Mattis and other U.S. officials have stated clearly that another attack will follow if al-Assad uses chemical weapons again.
So America’s message to Bashar al-Assad is pretty clear: “You may use barrel bombs, missiles, gunfire, and any other conventional weapons on neighborhoods, markets, schools, and hospitals, and you may massacre and kill as many women and children as you want, with no retribution. Just don’t use chemical weapons.”
The targets and time of day of Saturday morning’s attack were carefully chosen so as to avoid civilian casualties, particularly Russian casualties. The Russian military did not respond, and it was clear that both the U.S. and Russian side did everything possible to avoid confronting each other.
However, the language used by Russia on Saturday was extremely bitter and angry. And according to Pentagon spokesman Dana White,
The Russian disinformation campaign has already begun. There has been a 2000 per cent increase in Russian trolls in the last 24 hours.
As someone who is attacked constantly by Russian trolls, this is disheartening news. READ MORE
