After nearly a week of tension that sometimes verged on the surreal, the US and its allies finally carried out strikes against regime targets in Syria on Friday night. The strikes, more limited than once seemed likely, were designed to deter the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons once and for all.
Their real impact will be on the plummeting relationship between Moscow and the West.
The arguments over what happened in Douma on April 7 and who was responsible have dragged US-Russian relations to their lowest ebb in decades. On both sides, the rhetoric has been melodramatic, even irresponsible.
US President Donald Trump appeared to surrender any hope of a working relationship with Moscow when he tweeted that “President (Vladimir) Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad” in a “MINDLESS chemical attack in Syria.”
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