President Trump’s missile attack on the Syrian regime brought the daunting prospect of World War Three even closer. The whirlwind assault was in response to evidence showing brutal dictator Bashar al-Assad dropped chemical weapons on a rebel-held town. Trump ordered two US Navy warships to launch 59 Tomahawk missiles which rained down on an air base near Homs. Evidence suggests that it was from here that regime planes carrying the murderous gas bombs took off, according to the President. The UK called the deadly riposte —
which completely destroyed the base and killed personnel — an “appropriate” response to Assad’s barbaric slaughter of around 100 people, including children. But in a sign of how fraught with risk the move was, the Pentagon revealed that it had given prior warning to pro-Assad Russian counterparts before the missile strike. There were fears that such an action, consistently avoided under the Obama administration despite his talk of a “red line” being crossed, may pave the way to conflict between old foes America and Russia. MORE
