Mattis Is Keeping Syria Awake At Night — Won’t Rule Out US Retaliation

Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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According to Secretary of Defense James Mattis, all options are still on the table following a chemical attack reported in Syria over the weekend.

Mattis also made it clear that he would stand with President Donald Trump in holding Russia at least partially accountable, since Russia was charged with helping to ensure that President Bashar Al-Assad properly disposed of all chemical weapons following the last gas attack.

“The first thing we have to look at is why are chemical weapons still being used at all when Russia was the framework guarantor of removing all the chemical weapons. And so, working with our allies and our partners from NATO to Qatar and elsewhere, we are going to address this issue.“

So far, Syria has denied responsibility for the attack, and the Russian Foreign Ministry has denied that it even happened. Nine member-states on the United Nations Security Council, including the United States, have called for an emergency meeting and an immediate investigation into the situation.