4月14日報道，當地時間周五（13日）晚間，美國總統特朗普就敘利亞化學武器襲擊事件發表講話，宣布對敘利亞實施精確打擊。圖為14日凌晨敘利亞攔截美國飛彈畫面。 圖片來源：@Arturas Kerelis
敘利亞首都大馬士革聽到空中傳來巨大爆炸聲，敘利亞國家電視台說美英法三國對敘利亞「發動了侵略」。
大馬士革。英國首相特蕾莎·梅和法國總統馬克龍分表宣布，已經授權對敘利亞進行打擊。
大馬士革，遭到襲擊的Qasion山。美聯社報道指出，特朗普說，將持續對敘利亞進行轟炸，直到敘利亞政府停止使用化武攻擊。
爆炸畫面。
敘利亞發生爆炸。
美國可能空襲目標。
當地時間周五（13日）晚間，美國總統特朗普就敘利亞化學武器襲擊事件發表講話，宣布對敘利亞實施精確打擊。
據今日俄羅斯報道，當地時間周五（13日）晚間，美國總統特朗普就敘利亞化學武器襲擊 事件發表講話，宣布對敘利亞實施精確打擊。
此前，敘利亞東古塔地區7日發生疑似化學武器襲擊事件，導致70餘人喪生。報道一出,敘利亞反對派、美國、英國、法國等紛紛指責敘政府軍使用化學武器襲擊無辜平民。但敘利亞堅決否認,並指責西方和敘反對派造謠,目的是保護被圍困的恐怖分子。
俄外交部則認為,該謠言旨在袒護恐怖分子,並為外部勢力發動打擊尋找藉口。
北京時間4月11日早晨,聯合國安理會先後表決三份敘利亞化武問題決議草案,均未獲通過。 此前，特朗普曾揚言要讓美國飛彈飛向敘利亞。而後俄羅斯外交部發言人回應道,「智能」飛彈應該飛向恐怖分子,而不是一個合法的政府。發射「智能」飛彈難道是企圖摧毀化武襲擊的證據嗎?在收到回應後,特朗普發布推文表示,希望停止「軍備競賽」。
4月12日，俄羅斯外交部發言人曾表示，美國對於敘利亞的武裝威脅是在踐踏《聯合國憲 章》，並且敦促聯合國世衛組織行為公正,不要引領煽動作用。
對於敘利亞問題,中國外交部發言人耿爽在12日的例行記者會上強調,中方一貫堅持和平解 決爭端,一貫反對在國際關係中動輒使用武力或威脅使用武力,一貫主張按照《聯合國憲章》行 事。呼籲有關方面保持冷靜克制,使緊張局勢儘快緩和下來。
Trump Announces Missile Strikes Against Syria
By Jennifer Jacobs, Donna Abu-Nasr, Toluse Olorunnipa, and Anthony Capaccio
April 14, 2018, 9:01 AM GMT+8 Updated on April 14, 2018, 10:16 AM GMT+8
~~Missile strikes targeted chemical weapons facilities in Syria
~~Trump condemns Russia and Iran for supporting Syria’s Assad
President Trump speaks on April 13. Photographer: Mike Theiler/Pool
The U.S., U.K. and France launched targeted missiles strikes on Syria in retaliation for an apparent chemical attack by the regime of Bashar al-Assad on a rebel town.
President Donald Trump said the missile strikes were focused on chemical weapons sites and he made clear that the U.S. is prepared to sustain the strikes until Syria stops using those weapons.
「The purpose of our actions tonight is to establish a strong deterrent against the production, spread and use of chemical weapons,」 he said in a televised address from the White House. 「We are prepared to sustain this response until the Syrian regime stops its use of its use of prohibited chemical agents.」
General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Friday that naval and air forces from the three countries struck three primary targets, including a chemical weapons research facility outside Damascus and a weapons storage facility near Homs. He said the strikes were designed to minimize the risk of civilian casualties.
「Right now, this is a one-time shot and I believe it has sent a very strong message to dissuade him, to deter him,” Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said, adding that there were no reports of losses.
Trump blasted Iran and Russia for supporting Assad’s regime, particularly in the wake of the suspected chemical attack.
『Mass Murder』
「To Iran and to Russia I ask: What kind of a nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men, women and children?」 he said. 「The nations of the world can be judged by the friends they keep.」
Syria said its air defenses were 「confronting the U.S.-French-British aggression,」 according to the state-run SANA news agency. Syria’s Observatory for Human Rights, a group monitoring the conflict, reported that the strikes targeted several military bases, Republican Guards locations and the Scientific Studies Research Center.
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said the 「targeted」 strikes were aimed to deter future chemical attacks.
『Not About Intervening』
「This is not about intervening in a civil war. It is not about regime change,」 she said in statement.
French President Emmanuel Macron said, 「Our response has been limited to the capacities of the Syrian regime allowing the production and use of chemical weapons.」
Trump’s statement on U.S. policy toward Syria came after days of speculation that the U.S. would launch a strike against Syria in retaliation for an apparent chemical weapons attack last weekend that killed scores of civilians. A U.S. military response was widely expected to include missile strikes.
An assault has been anticipated since Trump vowed last Sunday to respond forcibly to a 「horrible attack」 on Douma, a town outside Damascus that was among the last strongholds for rebels opposed to Assad. Estimates of civilian casualties ranged from 21 to more than 78.
But the president also made clear that the U.S. actions has limits and that the U.S. commitment to acting in the Middle East won』t last forever.
『Troubled Place』
「We will try to make it better,」 Trump said. 」But the Middle East is a troubled place.」
Last April, Trump ordered a cruise missile strike against a Syrian airbase last April after a similar chemical weapons attack on civilians. That was the first direct American assault on Assad’s forces since the conflict in Syria began in March 2011.
Some Democrats criticized Trump’s decision, saying the launch was reckless and conducted without congressional approval.
「Absent a robust diplomatic process, military strikes will not change Assad’s calculus regarding the use of chemical weapons against his own people,」 Democratic Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts said in a statement. 「President Trump has failed to launch a multi-faceted diplomatic process in Syria and appears ready to repeat that failure again.」
But other Democrats said that Syria needed to pay a price for its actions.
「I support the attack because Assad must be held accountable for the use of chemical weapons,」 Democratic Senator Bill Nelson of Florida said on Twitter.
The attack in Douma complicated Trump’s plans for the region. Before reports of the latest chemical attack, Trump said the American military would be withdrawing from Syria 「very soon,」 once the defeat of Islamic State militants was secured. Last weekend, he condemned the chemical attack in a tweet and warned there would be a 「big price to pay.」
Assailing Putin
He also for the first time tweeted direct criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin, after long maintaining they could work together. 「President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad,」 Trump said.
Trump told Moscow on Wednesday to 「get ready」 for an American missile strike in Syria, after a Kremlin diplomat said that any rockets aimed toward Russian forces there — as well as any plane or ship that fired them — would be targeted.
Hopes of averting a direct confrontation rose, however, after Trump seemed to hold off as he consulted allies, and a senior Russian official said the envoy’s threats had been misinterpreted.
The attack occurred just days after John Bolton took office as Trump’s national security adviser. He has advocated for a more assertive American posture in the region to counter Iran’s influence.
Iran and Russia have backed Assad in his effort to defeat rebels that sought to overthrow him since he moved to suppress a groundswell of protests at the height of the Arab Spring movement.
Syria has denied using banned chemical weapons in a war that has killed more than 500,000 people and displaced half of the prewar population of 23 million. Its official Sana news agency scoffed at the reports that chemical weapons had been used in Douma, citing an unidentified official who said government forces advancing on the town didn』t 「need to use any chemical weapons as the media channels that support the terrorists are fabricating.」
Russia has variously said there was no chemical attack in Douma or that the U.S. and its allies orchestrated it to undermine Assad. 「The footage that was shown was clearly staged,」 Russia’s Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the United Nations Security Council.
『America First』
There are about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria, advising forces fighting against Islamic State fighters clinging to ever-shrinking territory, particularly along the border with Iraq.
As part of his 「America First」 campaign pledge, Trump had promised to remove the U.S. from costly and prolonged foreign entanglements. The continuing involvement of American forces in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, where the U.S. has fought extended conflicts since Sept. 11, 2001, continues to be a source of consternation for him.
The White House has said the mission to fight Islamic State in Syria was 「coming to a rapid end」 while offering no timetable for U.S. withdrawal.