April 7, 2017 — New York, New York
AJC praised President Trump for ordering a U.S. military strike on a Syrian airbase following the Assad regime’s fatal chemical weapons attack earlier this week. Dozens of civilians, including children, were killed or severely injured in the Syrian regime’s attack in Idlib province.
“The U.S. action is a wake-up call to the international community that endless words of anguish and protest are not nearly enough in the face of an ongoing crisis of this magnitude,” said AJC CEO David Harris. “While it remains to be seen what the U.S. strategy will be, it is heartening to witness President Trump show leadership, strength, and resolve, and, in doing so, gain the support of so many in the international community.”
More than 500,000 Syrians have died in the six-year-old civil war, and some 11 million Syrians, half of the country's population, have become internally displaced or refugees in other countries.
As President Trump noted, preventing the use and proliferation of chemical weapons is a vital U.S. national security interest.
"There can be no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons, violated its obligations under the chemical weapons convention and ignored the urging of the UN Security Council," said Trump, announcing the launch of 59 missiles from U.S. Navy ships off the coast of Syria.
