Gas attack in Syria 'consequence' of Obama approach, Trump says
US President Donald Trump has once again targeted his predecessor over his Syria policy following a suspected gas attack in the war-torn country.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Trump called the deadly chemical attack in Syria's Idlib province as the “consequence” of former President Barack Obama’s approach towards the country.
“Today’s chemical attack in Syria against innocent people, including women and children, is reprehensible and cannot be ignored by the civilized world,” Trump noted.
He also pointed the finger at the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the attack, further censuring Obama for not standing by his 2012 alleged red line of chemical weapons use in Syria.
“These heinous actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime are a consequence of the past administration’s weakness and irresolution,” Trump claimed.
The Syrian army has categorically denied the accusations of being involved in a suspected chemical attack in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, which killed dozens of people on Tuesday.
In a statement carried by the official SANA news agency on Tuesday, the army stressed that “it has never used them (chemical weapons), anytime, anywhere, and will not do so in the future.”
The army further blamed any use of chemical weapons on Syria's opposition and those who support them, noting that militants fabricate accusations of toxic gas attacks to divert attention from their failures on the ground.
Back in 2013, Trump repeatedly cautioned Obama in several tweets against the grave consequences of military intervention in Syria.
“AGAIN, TO OUR VERY FOOLISH LEADER, DO NOT ATTACK SYRIA - IF YOU DO MANY VERY BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN & FROM THAT FIGHT THE US GETS NOTHING!” he tweeted in September 2013.
“President Obama, do not attack Syria,” he tweeted days later. “There is no upside and tremendous downside. Save your 'powder' for another (and more important) day!”
Since March 2011, Syria has been gripped by militancy it blames on some Western states and their regional allies. Russia has been assisting the Syrian army in its counter-terrorism operations.
Washington has been leading a bombing campaign in Syria against what are said to be Daesh terrorists inside the country since September 2014 without any authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate. The strikes have led to a high number of civilian deaths.
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