Photo of Donald Trump courtesy of ABC News.
Moments ago, the United States attacked Syria by launching over 50 Tomahawk missiles, striking the Al Shayrat airfield in the process.
The attack was in response to Syrian dictator Bashar Hafez al-Assad's chemical attack on rebel forces two days ago. According to the New York Times, the missiles were aimed at fighter jets, not anything that had chemical weapons. Syrian journalist Leith Abou Fadel claims that there are no casualties.
After the attack, President Donald Trump gave a speech at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Here is the full transcript:
"On Tuesday, syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad launched a horrible chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians. Using a deadly nerve agent, he choked out the lives of helpless men, women, and children. It was a slow and brutal death for so many. Even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack. No child of God should ever suffer such horror. Tonight I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in syria from where the chemical attack was launched.It is in this vital national security interest of the united states to prevent and deter the spread of deadly chemical weapons. There can be no dispute that syria used chemical weapons. Violated its obligations under the chemical weapons convention and ignored the urging of the U.N. Security council. Years of previous attempts of changing a asada behavior hasl failed and failed very dramatically. As a result, the refugee crisis continues to deepen in the region continues to destabilize. Threatening the United States and its allies.
Tonight, I call on all civilized nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria. And also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types. We ask for God’s wisdom as we face the challenge of our very troubled world. We pray for the lives of the wounded and for the souls of those who have passed and we hope that as long as america stands for justice, then peace or harmony will in the end prevail. Good night, and god bless america, and the entire world, thank you."
This was the first time that the White House had ordered military action against Assad-led forces. In 2013, Barack Obama sought approval from congress to attack Syria after Assad used chemical weapons. Congress said no.
Trump did not seek approval from Congress before his attacks. In fact, after the attack happened, Twitter was quick to pull up a gang of old tweets where Trump criticized Obama for how he handled Syria.
Russia, Syria's most powerful ally, condemned the attack, saying that it was “aggression against a sovereign state in violation of international law.”
In the process, Russia says they will now work to straighten Syria's defense.
