by thecowl.opinion on April 27, 2017
Opinion
by Laura Arango ’20
Opinion Staff
Donald Trump—many people are already sick of his name only 100 days into his presidency, and many more people do not have positive things to say about him. I am usually one of those people, so one can imagine how shocked those around me were when I told them I actually agreed with one of his most recent moves: the missile strike against Syria.
There does not seem to be enough public knowledge regarding what this missile strike against Syria actually means. Donald Trump ordered a strike against an airfield in Syria. According to the Pentagon, the missiles “destroyed aircraft, hardened hangars, ammunition supply bunkers, air defense systems and radar at the Shayrat Airfield.”
The missiles did not destroy human lives. The United States’ reasoning behind said missile strikes was to make it clear that the United States stands against Syria’s decision to chemically attack innocent civilians using a deadly nerve agent.
Our president’s stand against the exploitation of human rights and our choice to not consult with Russian officials in our decision to attack is something every American citizen should support.
In the past, our president has urged the United States to shift its primary focus from deposing Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad to eliminating the threat of ISIS. Now, his position has changed. It seems that our President has had a change of heart about many of his previous promises.
There have been no signs that the Syrians have moved to retaliate and there is no expectation that they will. Former president Barack Obama had a similar issue with Assad and his use of chemical weapons. However, Obama chose to handle it by forcing Assad to hand over his stockpiles of chemical weapons. However, this agreement did not prove to be effective.
President Trump took a much stronger course of action and it worked in his favor. For that, America and the world should commend him. But it is still concerning to consider exactly how aggressive our President is willing to be.