The brutal civil war in Syria has dragged on for seven long years, reaping a toll of at least half a million people and driving nearly 11 million people from their homes. Far from winding down, genocidal Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s latest atrocity has likely just sparked a new period of intense violence as the United States is dragged even deeper into yet another Middle Eastern war.
On Saturday, April 7th, the Syrian Arab Airforce reportedly dropped barrel bombs filled with chlorine gas on Douma, the last town held by Salafi rebel group Jaish al-Islam in the Eastern Ghouta suburb of Syria’s capital city, Damascus. The deadly poison allegedly killed at least 70 people and affected hundreds, possibly thousands, more innocent civilians.
The images of the horrifying results are gut-wrenching indeed.
Entire families in shelters gassed to death in #Douma #EastGhouta hiding in their cellars, suffocated from the poisonous gas bringing the initial death toll to more than 40. @SyriaCivilDefe is still in the process of rescue and recovery. pic.twitter.com/GEsmCg5izw
— The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) April 7, 2018
The international community has immediately erupted in outrage, with President Trump himself taking a surprisingly forceful stance against “animal” Bashar al-Assad and his patron, President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation- and though we hate to say it, he’s not wrong.
Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria. Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2018
….to pay. Open area immediately for medical help and verification. Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2018
The horrifying atrocity comes at a tenuous time for the United States and our military engagement in Syria.
2,000 American servicemembers are currently on the ground in Syria, where they have been advising and supporting the multi-ethnic Syrian Democratic Coalition (SDF) and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG/YPS) in the fight to liberate northwest Syria from notorious terror group Daesh (ISIS/ISIL). US forces have largely tried to stay out of the fighting between the government and rebel groups, though occasional clashes have occurred.
President Trump recently demanded that the military pull our forces from Syria but was eventually convinced to drop it by his generals – and now that this horrifying war crime has been committed, Trump will feel obligated to act.
When SAA forces allegedly dropped chemicals weapons on the town of Khan Sheikoun in early 2017, killing 75 and wounding hundreds more, Trump responded with a missile barrage on the responsible airfield in Syria – a largely performative display of force that failed to accomplish any substantial strategic objective (the base was launching planes the very next day) but succeeded in giving the jackals in the media the dramatic footage and op-ed material they needed, which meant the strike was largely portrayed as a success for Trump and gave him a needed boost in the polls. Even Hillary Clinton came out of the woodwork to praise Trump for his expensive firework show.
Seeing that the establishment reacted with such morbid glee when Trump responded to Syrian atrocities with military force, it’s likely that he will do the same again, potentially drawing us even deeper into an endless civil war in which the lines between good and bad actors were wiped away years and years ago.
Rebel forces have become dominated by Saudi-supported hardline Islamic extremists and by al-Qaeda linked groups like Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham, who are no stranger to committing horrendous war crimes and even use chemical weapons themselves on occasion.
The government of Syria and its Russian allies, on the other hand, has shown no mercy when it comes to murdering its own citizens, purposefully attacking civilian areas with terrifying weapons and targeting markets, schools, and hospitals in order to flood Europe with refugees and exacerbating the tensions between Western nations.
The president ended his tirade with an unnecessary shot at President Obama, blaming him for refusing to intervene in Syria back in 2012 and choosing to use diplomacy instead of military force in a well-intentioned but ultimately failed attempt to get Assad to turn over his chemical weapon supplies to the international community.
If President Obama had crossed his stated Red Line In The Sand, the Syrian disaster would have ended long ago! Animal Assad would have been history!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2018
Given our current track record of getting into Middle Eastern wars that never end and accomplish nothing but turning the nations involved into hellscapes and murdering tens of thousands of innocent people, you can’t blame Obama for not wanting to get dragged in. Trump himself even agreed with him, once upon a time.
President Obama, do not attack Syria. There is no upside and tremendous downside. Save your "powder" for another (and more important) day!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 7, 2013
It just goes to show that at the end of the day, none of this – the innocent lives, the suffering of the Syrian people, the danger our troops are placed in, the cost of yet another war – means anything to Trump but another opportunity for him to exploit. Whether or not his big words will actually lead to anything remains to be seen.