Government - US Launches Tomahawk Missiles At Syria

Donald Trump has escalated the US role in Syria, ordering a volley of Tomahawk missile strikes on the country in retaliation for the chemical weapon attack on a rebel-held town.

Trump said this toughest US military action in Syria's six-year-old civil war was in America's "vital national security interest".  Two warships in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the USS Porter and USS Ross, fired 59 cruise missiles at the airbase from which a deadly chemical weapons attack was launched. 

US officials officials said they did not seek Moscow's approval for the missile strike, but they did communicate their intentions to Moscow and made no strikes on sections of the base where Russians were present. 

"Initial indications are that this strike has severely damaged or destroyed Syrian aircraft and support infrastructure and equipment at Shayrat Airfield, reducing the Syrian government's ability to deliver chemical weapons," said Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis.

The cruise missile strike is being termed a "one-off", suggesting that this is not going to be a regular thing.  But it marks a drastic turn from where the Trump administration was on Syria just a week ago, when US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that removing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power was no longer a US foreign policy priority.  Since then, the images of children suffering and dying from the suspected Sarin gas attack ignited outrage around the world, and the Trump administration spun on its heels to change direction on Syria.

Before he entered the White House, Trump issued several critical tweets warning President Barack Obama to avoid using the military in Syria, or at least to consult congress first.  But today, with his approval ratings swirling around the porcelain bowl, Trump did not ask for congressional authorization before launching these missile strikes.

The strike may have another effect, to demonstrate to allies and foes alike that the current occupant of the White House will not hesitate to use military force.  The missiles started flying just as Trump was having dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Florida resort Mar-a-Lago.  For the moment, it moved Syria to the head of the list of foreign policy blunders and challenges facing the Trump administration, including North Korea, the South China Sea, Iran, Islamic State, Yemen, and Somalia.