THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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By moving the goalposts, Trump leaves all confounded

By moving the goalposts, Trump leaves all confounded

What was the US president trying to achieve with one-off strikes on a Syrian airbase? 

Just over a month ago, President Donald Trump took the step of denying entry to all Syrian refugees to the United States. 
Trump obviously needed to be seen as living up to his campaign promises. Syria was one of those “insignificant” Muslim countries where there is no Trump Tower hence a controversial ban won’t be too costly.
Today, the US president would like the world to believe that he is deeply concerned about the people of that country.
Trump says the video of Syrian children grasping for their last breath following the chemical attack has “changed very much” his view of Syria and Assad.
That became the justification for Trump to authorise “a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was apparently launched”.
The barrage of nearly 60 cruise missiles was in response to the Tuesday’s chemical attacks that killed more than 80 people, including dozens of women and children, in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun. 
The Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad denies responsibility but all fingers point to the regime that is backed by Iran and Russia.
No one is certain as to what attacking a lone airfield will accomplish. After all, this is a man who came to power as an isolationist, screaming “America first”. 
In keeping with his true self, Trump took a swipe at the Obama administration, saying the previous government was weak on Syria.
“These heinous actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime are a consequence of the past administration’s weakness and irresolution,” Trump said.
It’s hard to take Trump seriously because he seems a man who cares more about showmanship than accomplishing anything meaningful. The missile attack on Friday, for example, targeted only one airfield but left Syria’s air defences in tact, as well as the Russian aircraft that Bashir employs to strike against the opposition and their strongholds. 
Assad’s military capability is still very much intact and in the final analysis Trump’s missiles are nothing more than a bark with little bite.
Perhaps Trump was trying to send a message. But given the fact that Assad has been blamed for carrying out dozens of chemical attacks over the past few years, so does the new president think a barrage of cruise missiles will make any difference?
Washington has a great deal of soul-searching to do. There is the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon waiting to go in and fight all-out if big brother in Iran or Syria give the green light. 
If removing Assad is a goal of the new US administration, then the question is: Is Trump ready to put American boots on the ground and go head to head with battle-hardened Hezbollah fighters who stood up to the mighty Israeli Defence Forces just a decade ago? What if Russia steps in? Will Trump go head to head against Vladimir Putin, a man he openly admired? 
In the final analysis, people are left with little clarity on Trump’s vision for Syria or what he is trying 
to accomplish. He did say he wanted to end “terrorism of all kinds and 
all types” – whatever that may mean. 
The world has a moral obligation to bring a swift end to the Syrian civil war. And the fact that military means have only prolonged this conflict should make it obvious that other negotiation tracks will need to be explored.

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