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“Nice, new and smart” missiles. In one of the most unusual Tweets of his dizzying term, the President of United States announced to the world that hostilities will begin against the Syrian regime and that he will be using missiles. Powdered any hint of military surprise, the President was allowed bluster with Russia, the great Godfather of the “animal” Bashar Al-Assad by asking him to “prepare” before the American military deployment. “Russia to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and smart. You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it”
Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018
After that, Trump wasn’t half an hour to load. It was in another tweet, also aimed at Russia, but this time of conciliatory tone and looking for the end of the arms race.
Our relationship with Russia is worse now than it has ever been, and that includes the Cold War. There is no reason for this. Russia needs us to help with their economy, something that would be very easy to do, and we need all nations to work together. Stop the arms race?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018
Trump’s messages came at a time when the world was already preparing for an imminent military intervention. The European air traffic agency, for example, has alerted all companies to take precautions in the eastern Mediterranean before the possibility of air strikes in Syria in the next 72 hours. The warning, according to Reuters, refers especially to the launching of cruise missiles and also prevents possible interruptions in radionavigation equipment.
The attack has been wielded by the United States as a response to the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Bashar al-Assad regime against the civilian population in Duma, a rebel stronghold on the outskirts of Damascus. The White House understands this offensive, which cut the life last Saturday to 60 civilians and caused hundreds of wounded, like a challenge to the red line that the president Trump drew a year ago, when before a similar slaughter, he destroyed by surprise with 59 Tomahawk missiles the air base of Shayrat, in the city of Homs.
On that occasion, the US response was unilateral. Now, Trump has sought the support of his allies. France, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia have shown their willingness to join the joint action. The experts point out that it will be of greater magnitude than that of 2017 and that, given the alleged recidivism of El Asad in the use of chemical weapons, it will seek a long-term deterrent effect. What is not yet known is when it will happen. The tweets this morning reveal that it will be imminent. In preparation, Trump has suspended his participation in the Summit of the Americas, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, and has insisted that the author of the Duma attack ‘pay a high price.’
