After launching airstrikes against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Friday night, President Donald Trump wasted no time to declare, “Mission Accomplished!”
But the question of what exactly was achieved remains largely unclear, as the president has not established a broader plan for Syria, and the legality behind the strikes has essentially been left in limbo.
Trump also thanked European allies Britain and France for joining the U.S. in the strikes, which targeted Syrian “research, storage and military targets” in response to the recent chemical weapons attack allegedly carried out near Damascus earlier this month by the Assad regime, which left dozens of civilians dead.
A perfectly executed strike last night. Thank you to France and the United Kingdom for their wisdom and the power of their fine Military. Could not have had a better result. Mission Accomplished!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 14, 2018
So proud of our great Military which will soon be, after the spending of billions of fully approved dollars, the finest that our Country has ever had. There won’t be anything, or anyone, even close!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 14, 2018
In a press briefing a Saturday morning the Pentagon reiterated the president’s “mission accomplished” sentiment and also announced that there had so far been no civilian casualties as a result of the strikes. The Pentagon explained and that in the immediate aftermath, the U.S. had “not seen any military response from actors within Syria.”
“I can assure you we took every measure and precaution to strike only what we targeted and — and we successfully hit every target,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said.
Pentagon spokesperson Dana White: "Last night operations were very successful. We met our objectives. We hit the sites, the heart of the chem weapons program. So, it was mission accomplished." https://t.co/ypXUjtGtIk pic.twitter.com/ppqt8dw6s9
— ABC News (@ABC) April 14, 2018
Director of the Joint Staff, Lt. General Kenneth McKenzie, said 105 missiles were successfully launched against three targets.
“In a powerful show of allied unity, we deployed 105 weapons against three targets that will significantly impact the Syrian regime’s ability to develop, deploy and use chemical weapons in the future,” he said in a briefing Saturday morning. “This is going to set the Syrian chemical weapons program back for years.”
He noted that he’s “not going to say that they’re going to be unable to conduct a chemical attack in the future,” but that the ability to do so wouldn’t be easy.
Russia has strongly supported the Assad regime throughout the civil war, and with direct military action since 2015, and denounced the U.S.-led strikes. On Saturday morning, Russia called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, Reuters reported.
Trump’s use of “mission accomplished” is, of course, reminiscent of the same phrase that was used by former President George W. Bush in 2003 about one month after the U.S. invaded and subsequently occupied Iraq.
But the president’s broader mission in Syria is largely unclear, and the Pentagon stated that fighting the Islamic State continues to remain the primary focus for the U.S.
“Our focus remains defeating ISIS. It is not to get involved in the Syrian civil war,” White said.
Experts and some lawmakers have questioned the legality of Trump’s airstrikes against Syria and have expressed concern about the U.S. military becoming further involved in the civil war in Syria. A larger U.S. role in Syria is also likely to only heighten tensions with Russia and Iran. Trump said earlier this week that U.S. relations with Russia were at the worst point ever “and that includes the Cold War.”
Our relationship with Russia is worse now than it has ever been, and that includes the Cold War. There is no reason for this. Russia needs us to help with their economy, something that would be very easy to do, and we need all nations to work together. Stop the arms race?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018
When Trump first announced the strikes on Friday night, he said Assad’s alleged actions were “not the actions of a man,” but rather, “they are crimes of a monster instead,” according to the New York Times.
However, it’s important to point out that the president has hardly been concerned with humanitarian concerns inside Syria in the past. That is evidenced by his past rhetoric, the abundance of civilians that have been killed by the Trump administration in the fight against ISIS and, of course, the fact that the president has dehumanized Syrian refugees and has dramatically reduced the number of refugees the U.S. has taken in. So far this year, the U.S. has let in only 11 Syrian refugees.
There were various reactions to the events on Twitter, but many condemned the strikes as illegal and unnecessary.
What mission accomplished? Are Putin-Assad suddenly going to stop targeting civilians (main cause of civilian death)? Is Assad any more likely to stop using chemical weapons than he was after the US retaliatory attack a year ago (when he kept using them)? Is Assad in The Hague? https://t.co/THRn0BJ4eP
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) April 14, 2018
I didn’t think I could be shocked by a tweet anymore but “mission accomplished” was so surprising I had to double check that it was not a spoof.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) April 14, 2018
Trump’s airstrikes on Syria are illegal without congressional authorization.
Hina Shamsi, director of our National Security Project, had this to say: pic.twitter.com/6niQPE25Ri
— ACLU (@ACLU) April 14, 2018
Truly amazing how much Trump cares for and loves to help the Syrian people…
The U.S. Has Accepted Only 11 Syrian Refugees This Year https://t.co/FfqKIbq5S3
— Trita Parsi (@tparsi) April 14, 2018
This is a good point. It’s unfortunate that both Democrat and Republican presidents have violated the War Powers Act as well. It has become meaningless. https://t.co/4RHZXPFxSr
— jeremy scahill (@jeremyscahill) April 14, 2018
It’s not covered under the AUMF. It’s a violation of the War Powers Act. His decision cannot be separated from all of the other issues he’s facing. Not to mention it’s morally and strategically wrong.
— jeremy scahill (@jeremyscahill) April 14, 2018
