Russian officials were notified of the United States missile strike on Syria before members of Congress were told about it, according to two reporters.
“Trump administration told Russia about its war plans before they told the U.S. Congress,” the Washington Post’s Josh Rogin reported.
CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr reported the same, saying more specifically that Russian forces were told before the attack happened, and that U.S. leaders were informed as the attacks happened.
However, Starr’s account is not quite accurate, a White House official told the Washington Examiner
“Members [of Congress] were made aware before impact,” he said
Congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., confirmed Vice President Mike Pence informed them of the attack Thursday evening. However, these same leaders haven’t said specifically when they were told of the missile strike.
McConnell ignored follow-up questions Friday morning about when he was told of the attack, according to EWTN’s Jason Calvi.
U.S. action against Syria comes in retaliation for a deadly chemical weapons attack this week that claimed the lives of roughly 70 civilians, including at least 10 children. American officials determined Syrian President Bashar Assad was responsible for ordering the attack.
The airfield that was hit Thursday is shared by Russian forces.
The reported order of who was informed first about the missile strike has left some in media perturbed and confused.
“Russia. Not Congress. Russia,” the New York Daily News’ Shaun King said, linking to an ABC New report that said nothing of who was informed first of the attack.
MTV News’ Ana Marie Cox added, “Ok but this is weird? No?”
Though it’s not certain which party was informed first of the attack, Yahoo News’ Olivier Knox rightly noted, “Trump appears to have at least floated the idea past US lawmakers yesterday.”
Whether the Russians should have been told is much easier to answer. The answer is: Yes.
The U.S. and Russia agreed to observe so-called deconfliction channels years ago to ensure neither one accidentally attacks the other as they stake out opposite sides of the Syrian civil war.
Notifying the Russians of the impending attack, then, is keeping with that memorandum, which was first announced in 2015.
“Russian forces were notified in advance of the strike using the established deconfliction line” a pentagon spokesperson told CNBC Thursday. “U.S. military planners took precautions to minimize risk to Russian or Syrian personnel located at the airfield.”
