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Trump Says Attack on Syria ‘Could Be Very Soon or Not So Soon at All’ Trump Says Attack on Syria ‘Could Be Very Soon or Not So Soon at All’
(35 minutes later)
WASHINGTON — President Trump said in a tweet early Thursday that he had never telegraphed the timing of an attack on Syria, and that such a strike — which he put Russia and Syria on notice for just one day earlier — “could be very soon or not so soon at all!” WASHINGTON — President Trump said in a tweet early Thursday that he had never telegraphed the timing of an attack on Syria, and that such a strike — for which he put Russia and Syria on notice just one day earlier — “could be very soon or not so soon at all!”
Heeding Mr. Trump’s warning on Wednesday, Syria has moved key aircraft to the Russian base near Latakia, and is working to protect important weapons systems. Heeding Mr. Trump’s warning on Wednesday, Syria has moved military aircraft to the Russian base near Latakia, and is working to protect important weapons systems. The Russians and Iranians have also been preparing for an American response, and the Trump administration’s delay in acting is giving Syria and its allies more time to prepare.
Mr. Trump has previously belittled American leaders for giving the enemy advance warnings of a strike. In his tweet on Thursday, the president defended his warning a day earlier and appeared to try to reintroduce the element of surprise of a possible American missile strike, underscoring what critics have described as a schizophrenic policy on United States involvement in Syria. Mr. Trump has previously belittled American leaders for giving the enemy advance warnings of a strike. In his tweet on Thursday, the president defended his warning a day earlier and appeared to try to reintroduce the element of surprise over a possible American missile strike, underscoring what critics have described as a confusing policy on United States involvement in Syria.
The White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, defended the president’s comments on Wednesday and said he was not violating his own policy because he never provided a specific time for the attack to begin.
“The president has not laid out a timetable and is still leaving a number of other options on the table,” Ms. Sanders said.
Earlier this month, Mr. Trump surprised even his own advisers when he said he wanted the United States to immediately withdraw troops from Syria. His request changed hours later after a National Security Council meeting, and the president decided to keep America’s 2,000 troops in Syria with the goal of bringing them home within a few months. The suspected chemical weapons attack on Saturday, however, enraged the president, and he promised a decision on an American response this week.
“We seem to say things and then move on,” Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, said Wednesday on Fox News Radio’s The Brian Kilmeade Show.
“The president has said though what he was going to do, I think it is important as a nation that we follow through on those things, we’ve waited too long already,” said Mr. Corker, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is retiring from the Senate at the end of this year.
The American troops in Syria have been fighting the Islamic State. Russian and Iranian forces are also stationed in Syria to support the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.