The Syrian chemical weapons attack on its citizens deserved a strong military response

ANALYSIS: Never mind that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had crossed the line many times before, images of the chemical attack victims were too much to ignore.

ANALYSIS

Never mind that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had crossed the line many times before without any blowback.

This time, the images of bloodless men, women and children, gasping for air like fish out of water, the victims of a deadly and illegal nerve-agent chemical attack, is too much for humanity to ignore.

This is the first assault on Assad’s government by the US and it immediately changes everything. Now, the US is at war with the Syrian regime.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Picture: AFP

After years of the world watching on, wringing its hands as Assad murdered his citizens at will, US President Donald Trump has responded to the latest chemical massacre by unleashing a fury of 50 to 60 Tomahawk missiles at an Assad-controlled air base near Homs.

The strikes from US Navy ships in the Mediterranean came on Thursday evening, Syrian time, or around 2pm eastern Australian time, targeting an air base from where it is believed Syrian jets took off on Tuesday and dropped deadly nerve agent chemicals on citizens of Khan Sheikhoun, in Idlib province, killing at least 70 civilians.

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The USS Ross fires a tomahawk land attack missile at a Syrian air force airfield. Picture: AFP/US Army

Assad, who has relied on the backing of Russia to attack anti-regime forces to act with impunity and has become emboldened by this support, is out of excuses.

What happens next is uncertain.

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Russia will be unhappy but it can no longer cover up for Assad, whose barbarity is intolerable to all right-minded people.

Trump’s decision to authorise the attacks takes him into new territory, and turns him from his desired plan to concentrate only on the home front.

But he had no choice.

A Syrian doctor treats a child following the chemical weapons attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun. Picture: AP

The reality is that the United Nations is a neutered organisation that can defend no one; only the US has the moral power for this attack, which is wholly justified and long overdue.

Trump will no doubt be talking soon to Vladimir Putin, explaining the actions of the US.

But Putin does not need it explained to him.

He knows that Assad is a butcher; he knows Assad serves no one but himself.

Vladimir Safronkov, Russia’s deputy UN envoy, said shortly before the strikes there would be “negative consequences” if the US responded to the gas massacre.

And there are.

For Assad.

The Shayrat airfield targeted by the missile strike. Picture: AFP/US Department of Defense

The US strikes don’t just damage one of his air bases — they fully expose his evil to the world.

Trump spoke in Florida, giving a short statement.

“On Tuesday, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad launched a horrible chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians,” he said.

“Using a deadly nerve agent, Assad choked out the lives of helpless 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.”

US President Donald Trump confirms the attack at a press conference. Picture: AFP

An emerging line of analysis that Trump is somehow a hypocrite, after saying he wanted to pull back from Syria and disengage his nation from war, fails to understand that doing nothing in response to the Khan Sheikhoun massacre would weaken not only his standing as a leader, but diminish his nation.

It is now up to Russia to show the world where it really stands.