President Trump will strike Syrian government targets again if President Bashar Assad’s regime continues to attack its own citizens, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday.
“The sight of people being gassed and blown away by barrel bombs ensures that if we see this kind of action again, we hold open the possibility of future action,” Spicer said.
Trump ordered a missile strike against a government-controlled airfield last week after Assad used it to launch a chemical attack on a civilian neighborhood. The move earned Trump a rare moment of bipartisan praise domestically and drew applause from most of the international community, but has ratcheted up tensions with Russia and North Korea.
However, the administration has come under increasing pressure to articulate a clear strategic vision for U.S. involvement in Syria after Cabinet officials sent mixed messages about whether Trump supports the removal of Assad.
“You can’t imagine a stable and peaceful Syria with Assad in charge,” Spicer said Monday before noting that “the first priority is still the containment of ISIS.”
Spicer declined to specify when the president might order additional military action in Syria, but said generally that Trump would respond when atrocities occurred at tha hands of Assad.
“If you gas a baby … you will see a response from this president,” Spicer said.
