Syria President Assad and Russian military assets continue to try push rebel’s out of the country by any means….
But the fact that Russia is in the region would probably cause Donald Trump to pause possibly ordering military action that would result in Russian causalities ….
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis took pains on Thursday to walk back President Trump’s threats of an imminent strike on Syria, reflecting mounting concerns at the Pentagon that a concerted bombing campaign could escalate into a wider conflict between Russia, Iran and the West.
An afternoon meeting of the president’s top national security advisers ended without a decision on an attack, said Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary. Defense Department officials noted it may be difficult to extricate the Trump administration from a strike, given the president’s Twitter post a day earlier that American missiles “will be coming, nice and new and ‘smart.’”
“We are continuing to assess intelligence and are engaged in conversations with our partners and allies,” Ms. Sanders said in a statement. She said Mr. Trump would be speaking later Thursday with Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain and President Emmanuel Macron of France, the two main partners expected to join military action.
Defense officials said Mr. Mattis was urging caution and consideration of a wider strategy — including trying to get more commitments from allies of immediate help after any strikes against President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. He also underscored the importance of a preponderance of evidence linking Mr. Assad to Saturday’s suspected chemical weapons attack on a suburb of Damascus, the capital, the officials said.
The Trump administration has not yet confirmed the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime…..
image…foriegn policy