Trump attempts to cloud timing of potential Syria strike
Washington (CNN)President
Donald Trump on Thursday attempted to cloud the timing of potential
airstrikes on Syria, a day after indicating they were imminent.
"Never
said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or
not so soon at all!," the President tweeted. But Trump notably did not
rule out plans to attack Syria in retaliation for the weekend's
suspected chemical attack on civilians at the hands of the Assad regime.
Trump on Wednesday
vowed to thwart Russia's missile defense system in Syria, warning that
rockets "will be coming, nice and new and 'smart.'" The President did
not specifically refer to the attack's timing in that tweet, but warned
Russia to "get ready."
But
in tweeting about a potential attack, Trump appeared to publicly
telegraph military plans -- something for which he heavily criticized former President Barack Obama back in 2013.
Trump on Thursday also suggested he did not get enough credit for US gains against ISIS in the region.
"In
any event, the United States, under my Administration, has done a great
job of ridding the region of ISIS," the President wrote in the same
tweet. "Where is our 'Thank you America?'"
The White House said Wednesday that the administration had not finalized its decisions about a course of action in Syria.
"We're
maintaining that we have a number of options and all those options are
still on the table. Final decisions haven't been made yet," press
secretary Sarah Sanders said. "The President has a number of options at
his disposal and all of those options remain on the table."
Top
military officials were at the White House on Wednesday afternoon to
discuss options for Syria, according to senior aides. The national
security team is expected to meet at the White House Thursday for
further discussions, according to three sources familiar, but it is not
clear if the President will take part in that meeting.
The
White House said Wednesday that Trump "holds Syria and Russia
responsible for this chemical weapons attack." Defense Secretary James
Mattis said earlier that day that the US is "still assessing the
intelligence" on whether the Assad regime is to blame for the recent
suspected chemical attack. Russia has blamed Syrian opposition forces
for the attack.
Trump has
consulted with US allies, particularly France and the United Kingdom,
about a coordinated response to the suspected chemical attack, but
officials say they have not reached a firm agreement on scale or timing.
The British Prime Minister, Theresa May, was convening a meeting of her
Cabinet on Thursday afternoon, at which she is expected to make the
case for supporting the US in any military action against Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad.
Russian
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned against a missile
strike, writing on Facebook Wednesday that it could destroy evidence on
the ground and interrupt the work of international investigators.
"Smart
missiles should fly toward terrorists, not the legal government that
has been fighting international terrorism for several years on its
territory," Zakharova wrote in response to Trump's Wednesday tweet.
Should the President follow through on his warnings of an attack, two US Navy destroyers
armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles are in position and ready to be
called into action, among other assets including jets and submarines.