White House Warning to Syria Leaves Little “Wiggle Room”

By Ambassador Robert Ford

Ambassador Robert Ford was the U.S. Ambassador to Syria from 2011-2014. He is currently a fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington and a teaching fellow at Yale University.

The White House late Monday night released a statement warning Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime against launching another chemical weapons attack. The Trump administration said the United States has identified “potential preparations” for an attack that “would likely result in the mass murder of civilians, including innocent children.”

“The activities are similar to preparations the regime made before its April 4, 2017 chemical weapons attack,” the White House said. “As we have previously stated, the United States is in Syria to eliminate the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. If, however, Mr. Assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price.”

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