President Donald Trump declared “Mission Accomplished!” hours after joint strikes on Syria by the U.S. and key allies, inviting immediate comparisons to President George W. Bush’s early, misplaced optimism about the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.
“A perfectly executed strike last night,” Trump said in a Twitter message. “Thank you to France and the United Kingdom for their wisdom and the power of their fine military. Could not have had a better result. Mission accomplished!”
Um...I would have recommended ending this tweet with not those two words. https://t.co/h5Fl7kjea6— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) April 14, 2018
On August 27, 2013, Newt Gingrich wrote:
News that the United States is considering a military strike on Syria in response to the Bashar al-Assad regime's suspected use of chemical weapons suggests we could soon see an American bombing campaign on the war-torn country.
The atrocities that took place in Syria recently, such as those that have been taking place there for almost two years, are deplorable and inhuman.
Before bombing Syria over the regime's latest crimes, however, we should stand back and ask, "And then what?"
A brief bombing campaign in Syria might make the United States and its allies feel like they are doing something, but it will prove nothing.
We have already abstained from getting involved in the civil war for two years and have chosen not to respond to evidence (albeit less clear) of another chemical attack this year.
We have already concluded that as terrible as the civil war is, it cannot be our war. The bombing will not change this -- and then what?
