By Jamie McIntyre and Travis J. Tritten, Washington Examiner
GOLDILOCKS KNOCKS: Presented with a range of options — light, medium or heavy — President Trump picked one in the “Goldilocks zone,” enough to punish Syrian President Bashar Assad, but not enough to provoke Russia or drag the U.S. into Syria’s seven-year civil war. Friday night (Saturday morning in Syria) the U.S., Britain and France launched 105 air and sea-launched missiles and hit three chemical weapons facilities in Syria in retaliation for a suspected chemical attack in Douma one week earlier.
“I suspect there was probably a lighter option even than the one we took,” former Supreme NATO commander retired Adm. James Stavridis told NPR. “This is like Goldilocks and the three bears, right? Little bed, big bed. I think we picked exactly the right bed for this moment in time. It was a well-structured strike and, I think, a good decision.”
THE MATTIS TOUCH: The strike plan was carefully calibrated to avoid civilian casualties, or striking Russian forces. The targets were “carefully selected with proportionality discrimination and being specifically associated with the chemical program,” said Defense Secretary Jim Mattis an hour after the strike ended. ABC’s Martha Raddatz reported that new national security adviser John Bolton was advocating for a broader strike. “But I’m told in the end, Bolton was respectful, listened to the variety of options, and presented those options to the president, which is exactly what he is supposed to do,” Raddatz said on ABC’s “This Week.”
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