Trump fulfills Syria promise by showing what a ‘red line’ really means

US President Donald Trump did it and proved that he is not like his “soft,” if not to say the conspirator, predecessor Barack Obama. Trump has fulfilled his promise and showed what his ‘red line’ means on the Syrian map, the map of death and terrorism and international political vileness.

He struck Al-Shayrat airbase with several Tomahawk missiles after the Syrian regime’s chemical attacks last year. Still, Bashar and his protectors, Russia and Iran, were not deterred. They carried out another chemical attack in Douma and then feigned innocence along with some Arab and non-Arab groups from around the world, such as the heirs of the Latin Guevara hot temper that’s mixed with the comrades’ cigars, like Bolivia.

“We did not do it, you are defaming us, and you are violating international law,” Russian President Putin bellowed along with Iranian supreme guide Khamenei and Bashar al-Assad’s international speaker whom you can call Bashar al-Jaafari.

You cannot blame them for making such statements as they are the ones who committed the crime or tried to hide it, not just in Douma but in other places. There has been a sustained method of carrying out attacks, both chemical and non-chemical, ever since the Syrian crisis erupted in 2011.

The big moral disgrace is the stance taken by groups, figures and movements like Hamas in Palestine, other “progressive” Arabs and a few retired “nationalists.”

They did not see Bashar’s crimes in Houla, Baba Amr, Zabadani, Madaya, Al-Qusayr, Idlib and Aleppo and in the evil perpetrated in the prisons of Sednaya, Mezzeh, Palmyra and Homs. They did not see the brutality and savagery of Assad’s officers, like Issam Zahreddine, Colonel al-Nemr, Suhail al-Hassan and Maher al-Assad. They appear oblivious to the forced displacement of millions of Syrians, the sectarian cleansing and the import of Shiite militias from Afghanistan, Lebanon and through Iraq. Last but not least, they did not take note of the chemical attack in Douma and in the entire of Ghouta and in Khan Shaykhun before that.

This reflects a scandalous lack of values and of conscience. Bashar Al-Assad has destroyed Syria, divided people, planted sectarian and national hatred and legislated the law of the jungle. When it comes to death, the poor peasant in Daraa or Aleppo’s countryside will not tell the difference between dying by the attacks of the Sukhoi, Tornado, Rafale and F-16, or by Bashar’s barrels, Nasrallah’s Grad rockets, Al-Nusra’s mortar, ISIS’ explosives or the Sarin gas produced by Assad’s Jamraya lab.

During his phone call with Rouhani, Putin described the US strikes as “an act of aggression against a sovereign state that is at the forefront of fighting terrorism!” This is what Putin said and he first bears the “logical” then the moral responsibility for these remarks.

Imagine a well-known writer from Gaza which wants the world’s sympathy with it against Israeli aggression is saying this when commenting on Assad’s strikes. Ibrahim Abrash, Professor of Political Science at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, said in an article: “Regarding the use of chemical weapons, this is controversial.”

We are faced with an incurable Arab and international leftist “cultural” disease, which is openly manifesting itself.

This article was first published in Arabic.

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Saudi journalist Mashari Althaydi presents Al Arabiya News Channel’s “views on the news” daily show “Maraya.” He has previously held the position of a managing senior editor for Saudi Arabia & Gulf region at pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat. Althaydi has published several papers on political Islam and social history of Saudi Arabia. He appears as a guest on several radio and television programs to discuss the ideologies of extremist groups and terrorists. He tweets under @MAlthaydy.