On April 8, after learning of the alleged Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons against a civilian neighborhood, President Trump tweeted that Syrian President Bashar Assad would pay a “big price.” The last time the Syrian government so blatantly used chemical weapons, Trump ordered a barrage of Tomahawk cruise missiles to strike at the base responsible for the chemical weapons attack. In the wake of the latest incident, however, many analysts have pointed out that last year’s response neither deterred Assad nor undercut his momentum against the Syrian opposition and questioned whether a new missile barrage would be any different.

Nor can Assad expect any serious repercussions at the United Nations given Russia’s willingness to protect him at all costs. “What’s the point of trying to shame such people?” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley said, “Pictures of dead children mean little to governments like Russia.”