Trump notifies Congress on potential further action on Syria
April 9, 2017
US President Donald Trump has claimed that the US military attack on a Syrian air base was in the country's "vital national interests." The legality of the airstrikes remains a grey area.
Image: Reuters/C. Barria
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US President Donald Trump on Saturday claimed in a letter addressed to both houses of Congress that his decision to order a military strike on a Syrian air base was taken in "vital national security and foreign policy interests" of the United States.
In what appeared to be an ominous warning to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Trump vowed in the letter that he would "take additional action, as necessary and appropriate" - remarks that echo UN Ambassador Nikki Haley's speech on Friday to the UN Security Council.
The US launched a barrage of Tomahawk missiles overnight on Thursday on a Syrian air base in Shayrat.
Trump said the attack was in retaliation for an alleged chemical strike earlier this week on the Syrian rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun that killed more than 80 people.
The intention of the letter, Trump said, was to keep Congress fully informed of future actions as stipulated in the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which mandates the president to notify Congress of military action.
Mulling the legality of Trump's attack on Syria
Although Trump has won widespread support for the military strike both domestically and internationally, its legality remains hazy.
The president has faced bipartisan pushback insisting that he should have sought congressional approval before ordering the attack on Shayrat.
Who's fighting in the Syria conflict?
Syria's civil war erupted out of the Arab Spring protests that swept much of the Middle East and North Africa in 2011. The conflict has since drawn in multiple warring factions from around the world.
Image: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
War with no end
Syria has been engulfed in a devastating civil war since 2011 after Syrian President Bashar Assad lost control over large parts of the country to multiple revolutionary groups. The conflict has since drawn in foreign powers and brought misery and death to Syrians.
Image: picture alliance/abaca/A. Al-Bushy
The dictator
Syria's army, officially known as the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), is loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and is fighting to restore the president's rule over the entire country. The SAA has been fighting alongside a number of pro-Assad militias such as the National Defense Force and has cooperated with military advisors from Russia and Iran, which back Assad.
Turkey, which is also part of the US-led coalition against IS, has actively supported rebels opposed to Assad. It has a tense relationship with its American allies over US cooperation with Kurdish fighters, who Ankara says are linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighting in Turkey. Turkey has launched multiple military offensives targeting Kurdish militias.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/L. Pitarakis
The eastern guardian
The Kremlin has proven to be a powerful friend to Assad. Russian air power and ground troops officially joined the fight in September 2015 after years of supplying the Syrian army. Moscow has come under fire from the international community for the high number of civilian casualties during its airstrikes. However, Russia's intervention turned the tide in war in favor of Assad.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Tass/M. Metzel
The western allies
A US-led coalition of more than 50 countries, including Germany, began targeting IS and other terrorist targets with airstrikes in late 2014. The anti-IS coalition has dealt major setbacks to the militant group. The US has more than a thousand special forces in the country backing the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/A.Brandon
The rebels
The Free Syrian Army grew out of protests against the Assad regime that eventually turned violent. Along with other non-jihadist rebel groups, it seeks the ouster of President Assad and democratic elections. After suffering a number of defeats, many of its members defected to hardline militant groups. It garnered some support from the US and Turkey, but its strength has been greatly diminished.
Image: Reuters
The resistance
Fighting between Syrian Kurds and Islamists has become its own conflict. The US-led coalition against the "Islamic State" has backed the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias. The Kurdish YPG militia is the main component of the SDF. The Kurds have had a tacit understanding with Assad.
Image: Getty Images/A. Sik
The new jihadists
"Islamic State" (IS) took advantage of regional chaos to capture vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014. Seeking to establish its own "caliphate," IS has become infamous for its fundamentalist brand of Islam and its mass atrocities. IS is on the brink of defeat after the US and Russia led separate military campaigns against the militant group.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
The old jihadists
IS is not the only terrorist group that has ravaged Syria. A number of jihadist militant groups are fighting in the conflict, warring against various rebel factions and the Assad regime. One of the main jihadist factions is Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which controls most of Idlib province and has ties with al-Qaeda.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Nusra Front on Twitter
The Persian shadow
Iran has supported Syria, its only Arab ally, for decades. Eager to maintain its ally, Tehran has provided Damascus with strategic assistance, military training and ground troops when the conflict emerged in 2011. The Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah also supports the Assad regime, fighting alongside Iranian forces and paramilitary groups in the country.
Image: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
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According to the War Powers Act, any ruling administration should seek what is known as an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) from Congress.
However, presidents have successfully laid out different standards of what constitutes "hostilities" meriting congressional approval. Broadly, these standards pose the question whether military action is overwhelmingly in the US' national interest or whether it is planned out to be limited in time and scope.
President Barack Obama applied these criteria to sidestep congressional approval in launching the US action in Libya in 2011.
And while Congress does still hold significant powers that could limit the president's going to war, such as cutting off military funds, its move to acquiesce to military action in the post-9/11 era means that there is little chance of it restricting any actions Trump may choose to pursue in Syria.
dm/kl (AP, AFP)
US missile attack on Syrian airbase
US forces fired a barrage of missiles on a Syrian airbase days after it theatened the Syrian government in the United Nations. The launch came in response to an alleged toxic gas attack on civilians.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/US Navy/S. Price
59 Tomahawk Missiles
In April, US forces attacked a Syrian air base with cruise missiles in retaliation for a deadly chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians. The US attack killed several Syrian soldiers and almost completely destroyed the base.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Images/US Navy/F. Williams
Syrian air base
The air base Al-Shairat looked like this before 59 Tomahawk rockets were fired at the site. US President Donald Trump said this was the base from which the poison gas attack was flown out of on Tuesday. The strike aimed to destroy airplanes as well as prevent take-offs and landings.
Image: 2017 Google Maps
Attack from the Mediterranean
The cruise missiles were launched from the USS Porter and USS Ross warships stationed in the Mediterranean Sea. It was the first time US forces had directly attacked government forces in the six-year civil war. Previous attacks in Syria targeted the so-called "Islamic State."
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/US Navy/F. Williams
Turning point for Trump
For Trump, the use of chemical weapons was a turning point in his attitude towards the Syrian conflict. After an even bigger chemical attack in August 2013, which killed several hundred people, he warned then-President Barack Obama against retaliating against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Image: Reuters/C. Barria
Threats in the UN Security Council
"When the United Nations consistently fails in its duty to act collectively, there are times in the life of states that we are compelled to take our own action," US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Wednesday, as she held up photographs of lifeless victims, including children.
Image: Reuters/S. Stapelton
Targeted attack or accident?
On Tuesday morning a residential district in Chan Sheikhun in Idlib province was bombed and poison gas was released. At least 70 people died in the attack, but responsibility is still unclear.
