President Trump's Textbook Surgical Strike Sent the Right Message to Syria, Bashar Assad (includes videos)

Photo: Hassan Ammar, AP

Last night’s multinational raid on Syria’s chemical weapons infrastructure was well planned, well conducted, and by all reports effective. There were apparently no casualties, no mistaken hits on Russian forces, and the raid seems to have been a textbook example of a surgical strike. The justified and proportionate action had broad international support, and bipartisan political backing inside the United States.

The raid was punitive, punishing the Assad regime for conducting illegal and inhuman chemical attacks on civilians. But more importantly the raid was intended to have a deterrent effect, to convince Syrian decisionmakers that it would be unwise to conduct any future such chemical attacks, in which case they would pay an escalating price.

Poor Vlad ... He used to be relevant when Obama was

in the WH

It is instructive to compare last night’s raid to the 2017 response to Syria’s chemical attack at Khan Sheikhoun. The latest raid used more and varied weaponry, involved more counties, and hit more targets than in 2017. Significantly, the targets were higher up the system – not just aimed at the units that conducted the attacks like in 2017, but at chemical weapons stockpiles, a research, development and testing facility, and a command post. Last night’s raid even touched the center of the highly defended capital Damascus, telegraphing to the Syrians that they have nowhere to hide.

The implicit message to the Assad regime is that if chemical weapons are used again, the response will involve even more weapons, potentially more countries, and hit targets even higher in the system. These could include senior military command and control nodes and government decision-makers. Ultimately this chain of escalation leads to Bashar Assad himself. If he continues to use chemical weapons he will have to wonder how many steps there are between last night’s raid and one that could potentially put him in the crosshairs.

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