At least 70 more people, many of them children, appear to have been killed in a brazen, viscious chemical attack in Syria this past Saturday. The usual suspects, namely Assad and his allies, once again appear to have been behind the chemical attack. Strong words of condemnation are already pouring out around the world, but if recent history predicts the future, little will come of it. However, while most are pointing fingers at Russia and the Assad regime, Arizona Republican Senator John McCain has argued that President Donald Trump must shoulder some of the blame as well.
Why? According to Sen. McCain, President Trump’s recent comments that the United States would withdraw from Syria may have emboldened the regime. With the Islamic State having all been but wiped out, President Trump had announced that the United States would leave Syria “very soon.”
Regarding these comments, Sen. McCain said: “Bashar Assad and his Russian and Iranian backers have heard him, and emboldened by American inaction, Assad has reportedly launched another chemical attack against innocent men, women, and children, this time in Douma.”
Following the chemical attacks, Trump has said that there would be a “big price to pay.” It also appears that President Trump has concluded what many other observers have agreed upon: Putin and Assad were almost certainly behind the attacks. Some have suggested, however, that Syrian rebels may have staged the attack in an effort to get American troops to stay. Trump also pinned President Obama for some of the blame.
If President Obama had crossed his stated Red Line In The Sand, the Syrian disaster would have ended long ago! Animal Assad would have been history!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2018
The comment seems to be at odds with President Trump’s recent comments about withdrawing from Syria. President Trump has often hinted at a preference for an isolationist geo-political strategy and specifically staying out of conflicts. Had Obama been more forceful with his red line, it would have contradicted that isolationism and drawn the United States deeper into a complex war theater.
Interestingly, Obama previously came under criticism for withdrawing from Iraq. Many have argued that America’s withdrawal of combat soldiers led to the power vacuum in Iraq that allowed the Islamic State to seize huge swaths of the country. Many now believe that if the United States withdraws from Syria, it will give the Assad regime, Russia, and Iran free rein over the war-torn nation.
.@POTUS Trump condemns the heinous attack on innocent Syrians with banned chemical weapons. #Syria pic.twitter.com/qiEahlL3Ah
— Department of State (@StateDept) April 9, 2018
For Assad, the attack appears to have paid off. Rebels have reportedly agreed to leave Douma, the eastern Damascus suburb where the chemical attack occurred. They will instead move to a rebel-held area north of the city. Douma had been held by rebels since the early days of the civil war. Douma was the last major town in the area.
The governments in Iran, Russia, and Syria have all claimed that the chemical attack was staged. State media in Syria claims that the “Army of Islam,” an Islamist rebel group, staged the attack. Militias supported by Iran, the Russian military, and the Assad regime were tightening their grip on Douma. In recent weeks, more than 1,600 people are believed to have died from conventional bombardment.
While Assad had been written-off as the Arab Spring swept the Middle East, his regime now seems likely to emerge from the civil war in power. Several moderate rebel groups continue to fight on, having proven instrumental in the defeat of the Islamic State. However, these groups will struggle should their biggest backer, the United States, withdraw.
