Too quick on the draw?
This wasn’t the first time the Syrian government was accused of a chemical attack, of course. And, just like the previous five or six times, this time too the UN had conceded that the rebels had, in fact, used chemicals not the regime. Yet by then the Trump administration had already held the Obama administration responsible, somehow, and fired off fifty-something cruise missiles towards Syria. Needless to say, this dirties the waters considerably in an already very ugly war.
Already there’s the GCC bloc pouring in arms and weapons to the rebels for years. Then there’s European and American money. There are the Turks, with their own interests. And there’s no mystery about Russian and Iranian interests in the unfortunate country. Even the Chinese are setting up a base to help the dilapidated Syrian Arab Army. And now there are American tomahawks.
Soon the Americans will have to provide a cohesive narrative; which is where they will struggle. It’s not just simple questions like just why Syrians would cause international outrage by using chemical bombs when they are clearly winning the war. Or why are the Americans still accommodating ISIS dominated rebels, even though they have beheaded, shot, burned, butchered, etc, tens of thousands over the course of this war? They will also have to think about the costly, needless friction with Russia? As facts emerge, a very inexperienced team in the White House will have to second guess itself. How to deal with the mess in Syria and the international ramifications of a rash decision when evidence doesn’t quite back your accusations?
