Israel disappointed over US-led strike on Syria

missile strike damage

Ben Caspit, in Al Monitor, wrties “The American-British-French assault April 14 on the Bashar al-Assad regime’s chemical weapons infrastructure concluded a long and painful process of awakening among Israel’s political and military leadership. It’s certainly not a pleasant experience to be hit with over 100 Tomahawk cruise missiles fired by a superpower like the United States,” a senior Cabinet member told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, in what sounded more like bitter consolation. “Still, it is obvious to us that this attack does not increase America’s deterrent capacity in the region in any significant way, nor does it indicate whether President Donald Trump is planning what we would like to see happen in the future. Once the dust settles, it will become clear that President Trump did the minimum he could, which is far from what really needs to happen in order to rein in [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and [Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan] Nasrallah.”

“The last time Trump launched strikes on Syria, in April 2017, the mood in Israel was very different. It could almost have been called euphoric. Jerusalem was convinced that a new sheriff had come to town, and that what happened in the past would not be happening anymore. The existing order was dead, and the “bastards” were planning to change all the rules. “What we need to remember,” a senior Israeli defense official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “is that the last time the Americans launched an attack in Syria was shortly after Trump entered office, when the whole world was worried about the compulsive new president, and even the Russians were preparing to take a blow. Putin,” he continued, “had not yet been declared the all-powerful sheriff in Syria. The Syrian civil war had not yet been decided, and the vacuum was significantly larger than it is today.” (read more)