The media is blowing out of proportion the White House internecine battle between former Breitbart chief turned President Donald Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon, and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, Trump's press secretary Sean Spicer scolded today.
Spicer appeared to draw a new red line for the Trump administration when he told reporters Monday that if a country gases a baby or puts "a barrel bomb into innocent people, I think you will see a response from this president".
The warning came as G7 foreign ministers gathered in Lucca, Italy to consider a response to the chemical attack in Idlib province which killed more than 80 people, including many children. Because Assad's forces depend more heavily on barrel bombs in quelling opposition in the civil war, the stance increases the likelihood of additional USA intervention in Syria.
"The president retains the option to act in Syria against the Assad regime whenever it is in the national interest, as was determined following that government's use of chemical weapons against its own citizens".
The bombs, which typically consist of barrels stuffed with explosives and objects, such as nails or shrapnel, are used to maximize the amount of damage and death without the cost of most sophisticated weapons.
The British Embassy in Washington says Trump thanked the prime minister Monday "for her support in the wake of last week's USA military action against the Assad regime".
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Theresa May spoke on Monday to Trump and agreed that "a window of opportunity" now exists to persuade Russian Federation to break ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, May's office said.
US, UK call on Putin to rethink support for Syria
Haley said "getting Assad out is not the only priority" and that countering Iran's influence in Syria was another. The strike was the first time American forces targeted a Syrian government installation in the course of the war.
Trump "recognizes that sometimes some of this spills over, these policy differences and discussions", added Spicer, in a stroke of understatement. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the US would soon announce new sanctions on the Assad regime to deter countries and companies from supporting it.
Adding barrel bombs to the list of verboten weapons significantly widens the sort of military activity by Assad that would warrant action.
Air power, including the use of barrel bombs, gives Assad "a major advantage over the rebels", he said in a phone interview.
"He doesn't want a monolithical thought process going through the White House", Spicer said of the reality-TV star turned POTUS.
President Donald Trump has spoken with British Prime Minister Theresa May about US strikes in Syria in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack on civilians. But Spicer declined to elaborate further on what actions may provoke a USA military strike.
Spicer said he can't see Syria become stable without President Assad leaving power, but he stopped short of saying that Assad had committed war crimes by attacking his own people with chemical weapons.
The White House also doubled down on its rhetoric on the need for Syrian regime leader to step down. Previously, the Obama administration never struck Syrian government targets.
Comments