April 16, 2018

Trump Was Right to Hit Syria. But He Should Stop There.

Thank goodness: President Donald Trump’s decision to launch limited missile strikes against chemical weapons facilities in Syria was an appropriate use of force—and a relief after a week when it appeared the White House was considering a much bigger attack.

As a former Pentagon and State Department official, and as someone who has long advocated for greater American military involvement in Syria, I believe a significant intervention now would be a huge mistake that would only harm the United States and the Syrian people. Trump should continue to show restraint.

I served in the Obama administration and supported most of his policies, but I always disagreed with his approach to Syria and believed that if the United States had aggressively armed a moderate opposition early on in the conflict, while it still existed, and combined it with missile strikes, a no-fly zone or the establishment of safe zones, we could have overthrown Syrian dictator Bashar Assad and ended the war sooner.

Read the full article at Politico

More from CNAS

  • Reports
    • November 17, 2021
    The Future of the Digital Order

    Executive Summary Nations that successfully harness the vast economic, political, and societal power of emerging information and communications technologies will shape the fut...

    By Jeff Cirillo, Lisa Curtis, Joshua Fitt, Kara Frederick, ​Coby Goldberg, Ilan Goldenberg, Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Megan Lamberth, Martijn Rasser & Dania Torres

  • Reports
    • November 4, 2021
    When Less Is More

    Executive Summary For the past 20 years, the U.S. military has invested heavily in the Middle East. Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump both attempted to shift assets out...

    By Ilan Goldenberg, Becca Wasser, Elisa Catalano Ewers & Lilly Blumenthal

  • Podcast
    • July 2, 2021
    Iran Deal Return Increasingly Uncertain

    Elisa Catalano Ewers joins The Warcast to discuss the series of strikes exchanged in Iraq and Syria and their diplomatic ramifications. Listen to the full episode from The Wa...

    By Elisa Catalano Ewers

  • Commentary
    • Foreign Affairs
    • June 21, 2021
    Biden Can Keep the Two-State Solution Alive

    Small details matter a great deal—and they have the potential to become big international headaches....

    By Ilan Goldenberg

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia