In an appearance on "Fox News Sunday" - his first television interview since taking office as national security adviser - Gen. H.R. McMaster was pressed to reconcile that seeming contradictions between the positions advanced by Tillerson and Haley.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson denied in an interview on CBS's "Face the Nation" that the strikes signaled an overhaul of American policy, saying its priority remained to defeat Islamic State militants in the Middle East. He said allegations that al-Assad's regime was behind a chemical weapons attack were "baseless" and suggested it was carried out by rebel groups to influence global public opinion. "Why are we supporting this murderous regime that is committing mass murder of its own population?"
In response to the attack, the United States fired cruise missiles at a Syrian air base on April 7, drawing condemnations by Russian Federation and Iran, which have given Assad crucial diplomatic and military support throughout Syria's six-year-long civil war.
"It doesn't mean we don't have great sympathy, but we have to debate when and where we go to war".
US Treasury officials say they are preparing sanctions in response to the chemical weapons attack, though the Syrian government is already buried under US sanctions.
The decision comes after a dramatic downturn in relations between American and Russian Federation after a chemical attack killed more than 70 Syrians, including children.
University student Ashraf Fadel said he came to denounce "the unjust American aggression against Syria".
Haley told Tapper that the images of innocent victims from the chemical attack crossed the line for Trump and slammed Russian Federation for protecting the Syrian regime. "What we saw was a reaction to the use of chemical weapons, something I think many of us supported", he said.
Marine Le Pen blasted by Israel over Holocaust comments
Opinion polls predict Mr Macron and far-right Marine Le Pen will reach the second round on 7 May. That is why Marine Le Pen denounced the "so-called Gaullists" for "instrumentalizing" history.
"We've seen what that looks like when you undertake a violent regime change in Libya, and the situation in Libya continues to be very chaotic, and I would argue that the life of the Libyan people is not all that well off today", Tillerson said Sunday.
The Pentagon said 59 Tomahawk missiles were launched, targeting aircraft, aircraft shelters, petroleum storage, ammunition supply bunkers, radars and air defense systems at the base.
The public assessment of Friday's missile strike and the forceful rhetoric came as G7 ministers met in Italy to send a "clear and coordinated" message to Russian Federation over its support for Damascus.
He also told Tillerson that assertions that the Syrian military used chemical weapon in Idlib province on April 4 do not correspond to reality, the ministry added.
Soon after the declaration that everything was destroyed, reports began emerging of chlorine attacks and the use of other suspected chemical weapons agents.
Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has spoken to Mr Tillerson by phone, telling him that the cruise missile attack against the Syrian regime "plays into the hands of extremists".
The White House later on Monday said Trump had spoken with May and separately with German Chancellor Angela Merkel by telephone about the USA attack and thanked them for their support.
If there's any evidence or credible accusations on Russian participation, "we'll follow up on that to the best of our ability".
Comments