Hawkish Dems Cheer Trump Attack on Syria

Clinton Called for US to 'Take Out' Airfields Just Hours Before US Strikes

The question of attacking Syria was a major point of debate during the 2016 election, with President Trump warning against the idea, as potentially leading to a war with Russia, and Hillary Clinton campaigning heavily on the idea of attacking Syria.

Two and a half months after the inauguration, President Trump attacked Syria last night, firing 59 Tomahawk missiles at them. And while a lot of the people who agreed with Trump the candidate are confused and concerned by the attack, Democrat hawks are thrilled, this being a war they’d wanted for a long time.

Former Secretary of State John Kerry insisted he was “gratified” that Trump had attacked Syria, adding that he believes more military action would be a way for the US to produce a peace deal in Syria after years of civil war. Kerry was a leading proponent of the 2013 US invasion of Syria, which was scrapped because of Congressional opposition.

It doesn’t appear that Trump will be facing any such opposition, with Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D – CA) urging a quick Authorization of the Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Syria for Trump, while Congressional leaders cheered the attack as “appropriate and just” and appeared in no hurry to even debate the AUMF, content to leave the attack just another unauthorized war.

Even Hillary Clinton seems to be on the same page with Trump at this point, as she issued a public statement calling on the US to attack Syrian airfields just hours before the Trump Administration actually started firing the missiles.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.