Trump Alludes to Force in Responding to Syria Chemical Attack

FEATURING DR. STEPHEN ZUNES – More than a hundred people were killed in a chemical attack in Khan Shaikhoun, Syria this week. Among the dead are a dozen or so children. Turkish doctors have conducted autopsies confirming that chemical weapons were used in the worst such attack in years.

The United Nations Security Council met on Wednesday to roundly skewer the Syrian government of Bashar Al Assad and also condemn Assad’s closest ally Russia, for refusing to pass a resolution on the matter. Russia instead claimed that Syrian rebels likely killed the civilians in order to embarrass the government.

US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley held up photos of dead Syrian children and warned that the US might take unilateral action on the matter. Donald Trump also commented on the attack implying that it was a game changer. Photos of victims of the attack choking and foaming at the mouth have horrified the world.

Meanwhile Islamic State rebels have reportedly executed 33 people in Deir Ezzor, Syria and fired on people in Tikrit, Iraq, killing 22.

Find more of Dr. Zunes’ work at www.stephenzunes.org.

Dr. Stephen Zunes is a Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, where he serves as coordinator of the program in Middle Eastern Studies. He also serves as a senior policy analyst for Foreign Policy in Focus, a project of the Institute for Policy Studies. He is also an associate editor of Peace Review.