On Syria, Jim Mattis pushed Trump to the ‘Goldilocks zone’

GOLDILOCKS KNOCKS: Presented with a range of options — light, medium or heavy — President Trump picked one in the “Goldilocks zone,” enough to punish Syrian President Bashar Assad, but not enough to provoke Russia or drag the U.S. into Syria’s seven-year civil war. Friday night (Saturday morning in Syria) the U.S., Britain and France launched 105 air and sea-launched missiles and hit three chemical weapons facilities in Syria in retaliation for a suspected chemical attack in Douma one week earlier.

“I suspect there was probably a lighter option even than the one we took,” former Supreme NATO commander retired Adm. James Stavridis told NPR. “This is like Goldilocks and the three bears, right? Little bed, big bed. I think we picked exactly the right bed for this moment in time. It was a well-structured strike and, I think, a good decision.”