Palestinian Pundit: Syria: US launches 60 missiles in strike on airbase near Homs

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Syria: US launches 60 missiles in strike on airbase near Homs – live

US military strike under way in Syria after gas attack in Idlib appears to have changed Donald Trump’s view on Bashar al-Assad

The Guardian

Link

Pentagon: Russia notified before strike

Spencer Ackerman

The Pentagon has confirmed it used a hotline for minimising the risk of aerial combat between US and Russian jets in eastern Syria to alert Russia of the strike against its Syrian client.

The Russians are sure to have routed that warning to Assad, raising immediate questions about what the strike will have accomplished, and also signalling that the US does not seek escalation.

Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said:

Russian forces were notified in advance of the strike using the established deconfliction line. US military planners took precautions to minimise risk to Russian or Syrian personnel located at the airfield.

We are assessing the results of the strike. Initial indications are that this strike has severely damaged or destroyed Syrian aircraft and support infrastructure and equipment at Shayrat airfield, reducing the Syrian government’s ability to deliver chemical weapons.

The use of chemical weapons against innocent people will not be tolerated.

7m ago22:27

Tillerson tells reporters that the strike was “proportionate” and the US has a “high degree of confidence” that sarin gas was used in this week’s attack in Idlib.

9m ago22:24

Tillerson: Russia 'complicit or incompetent' over Syria chemical weapons deal

US secretary of state Rex Tillerson and national security adviser HR McMaster are also now briefing reporters at Mar-a-Lago shortly; they were in Florida to consult with Trump ahead of the strike.

Tillerson says Russia has failed to carry out its responsibilities under the 2013 agreement designed to rid Assad of his chemical weapons stocks.

He says Moscow was “either complicit or incompetent” in its handling of the deal.

15m ago22:19

Here’s the Trump speech – you can read the comments in full a little further down this blog here:

22m ago22:12

Florida Senator Marco Rubio has also welcomed the strike. In a statement, he said:

I salute the bravery and skill of the men and women of our armed forces who conducted this mission. Tonight’s strike against the Assad regime’s Shayrat airbase will hopefully diminish his capacity to commit atrocities against innocent civilians.

By acting decisively against the very facility from which Assad launched his murderous chemical weapons attack, President Trump has made it clear to Assad and those who empower him that the days of committing war crimes with impunity are over.

What must follow is a real and comprehensive strategy to ensure that Assad is no longer a threat to his people and to US security, and that Russia no longer has free rein to support his regime.

28m ago22:06

Trump: full comments

Here are the full remarks made by the president to reporters in Florida:

My fellow Americans,

On Tuesday, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad launched a horrible chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians using a deadly nerve agent.

Assad choked out the lives of innocent men, women and children. It was a slow and brutal death for so many. Even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack.

No child of god should ever suffer such horror.

Tonight I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched.

It is in this vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons.

There can be no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons, violated its obligations under the chemical weapons convention, and ignored the urging of the UN security council.

Years of previous attempts at changing Assad’s behaviour have all failed and failed very dramatically.

As a result the refugee crisis continues to deepen and the region continues to destabilise, threatening the United States and its allies.

Tonight I call on all civilised nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria, and also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types.

We ask for god’s wisdom as we face the challenge of our very troubled world.

We pray for the lives of the wounded and for the souls of those who have passed.

And we hope that as long as America stands for justice that peace and harmony will in the end prevail.

Goodnight and god bless America and the entire world. Thank you.

Updated at 10.09pm EDT

39m ago21:55

Syrian state TV has responded – albeit without much detail – to the US strike.

According to Reuters, state TV has reported:

American aggression targets Syrian military targets with a number of missiles.

45m ago21:48

Trump speaks on Syria strike

Donald Trump is speaking to reporters at Mar-a-Lago.

He says Assad used deadly nerve gas to kill many Syrians.

Tonight he ordered a “targeted military strike” on the airfield from which that chemical weapons attack was launched.

These strikes were, he said, in the “vital national security interest” of the US.

He said he was calling on all “civilised nations” to stop the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria.

49m ago21:45

Spencer Ackerman

The US military has launched a cruise missile volley at Syrian airfields, making the US a direct combatant for the first time against Bashar al-Assad.

Donald Trump, who for years signalled comfort with leaving Assad in power, abruptly switched course after seeing images of children gassed to death in Idlib province after Assad unleashed sarin gas in his latest chemical weapons attack.

The strike comprised dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from the guided-missile destroyers USS Ross and Porter in the eastern Mediterranean. An airfield near Homs was targeted, signalling a limited initial engagement. The US did not target Syria’s formidable air defences, as it does before a concerted airpower campaign.

Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, both armed services committee hawks who have been sharply critical of Trump even as they have long sought an attack on Assad, praised Trump on Thursday evening.

In a joint statement, they said:

We salute the skill and professionalism of the US armed forces who carried out tonight’s strikes in Syria. Acting on the orders of their commander-in-chief, they have sent an important message: the United States will no longer stand idly by as Assad, aided and abetted by Putin’s Russia, slaughters innocent Syrians with chemical weapons and barrel bombs.

Tomahawks are sophisticated missiles with the ability to shift course in the air, making them analogous to drones on a one-way mission. Syria’s formidable, Russian-supplied air defences, largely along the Mediterranean coast, have long prompted warnings from US military officials against attacking Assad.

54m ago21:40

CNN reports that the missile launches took place around an hour ago, at 8.45 ET – that would have been 3.45am in Syria. The targets at the military airbase included runways, aircraft and fuel points.

1h ago21:32

The map shows al-Shayrat airfield, a Syrian military site close to Homs, which was targeted by around 60 US Tomahawk missiles.

It’s currently Friday 4.30am in Syria. It is not yet clear precisely what time the strikes were carried out.

1h ago21:30

Donald Trump is expected to address the nation shortly. We’ll cover that live here.

It’s currently 9.30pm in Florida, where the president is hosting his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

Earlier, en route to Florida, Trump had been vague about his intentions.

He told reporters on Air Force One:

I think what happened in Syria is a disgrace to humanity, and he’s there, and I guess he’s running things, so something should happen.

1h ago21:26

Associated Press has more details on the strike.

It says the US has attacked a Syrian airbase using around 60 cruise missiles.

US officials said the Tomahawk missiles were fired from two warships in the Mediterranean Sea, targeting the Syrian government-controlled airbase.

1h ago21:23

The move came after Trump held meetings with the secretary of defense, James Mattis, and national security adviser HR McMaster at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, where the president is currently hosting his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

Simultaneously, the joint chiefs were briefed at the Pentagon for several hours on Thursday.

As my colleagues Spencer Ackerman and Julian Borger report:

Senior US military commanders have long sounded warnings over involving the US in Syria’s grueling, multifaceted civil war, but the Pentagon is now said to be considering a range of options for standoff missile strikes against Assad regime targets.

Discussions are likely to center on whether the strikes would be punitive and limited – to destroy specific aircraft, airstrips or chemical weapons infrastructure – or the beginning of a broader campaign to oust a ruler whom only days ago the Trump administration was prepared to leave in power.

It is further unclear what, if any, US planning exists for a post-Assad Syria should the US seek to oust Assad and inherit a fractious, violent country.

1h ago21:19

News is breaking that the US has launched missile strikes against Syria.

NBC News reports that strikes were launched on al-Shayrat airfield, a Syrian military site close to Homs.

Reports from NBC and CNN say more than 50 Tomahawk missiles were fired.

This follows an apparent change of heart by Donald Trump over action in Syria, sparked by Tuesday’s chemical weapons attack in Idlib that killed more than 70 people.

We will be following developments here on the live blog as they unfold.

For crucial background, Kareem Shaheen has this exclusive on-the-ground report on conditions at the site of the attack, Khan Sheikhun.