President Trump on Saturday formally notified House and Senate leaders of the missile strike he directed against Syria Thursday night, and said his action was meant to stop Syria from conducting any more chemical attacks against its own people.
“I directed this action in order to degrade the Syrian military’s ability to conduct further chemical weapons attacks and to dissuade the Syrian regime from using or proliferating chemical weapons, thereby promoting the stability of the region and averting a worsening of the region’s current humanitarian catastrophe,” Trump wrote to House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Senate President Pro Tempore Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.
Trump defended the strike as a way to defend the “vital national security and foreign policy” of the United States, and said the U.S. “will take additional action, as necessary and appropriate,” when it’s needed.
Read Trump’s full letter below:
April 8, 2017
Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
At approximately 8:40 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on April 6, 2017, at my direction, United States military forces in the Mediterranean Sea, operating beyond the territorial sea of any state, struck the Shayrat military airfield in Syria. United States intelligence indicates that Syrian military forces operating from this airfield were responsible for the chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians in southern Idlib Province, Syria, that occurred on April 4. I directed this action in order to degrade the Syrian military’s ability to conduct further chemical weapons attacks and to dissuade the Syrian regime from using or proliferating chemical weapons, thereby promoting the stability of the region and averting a worsening of the region’s current humanitarian catastrophe.
I acted in the vital national security and foreign policy interests of the United States, pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive. The United States will take additional action, as necessary and appropriate, to further its important national interests.
I am providing this report as part of my efforts to keep the Congress fully informed, consistent with the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148). I appreciate the support of the Congress in this action.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Trump
