Mess gets messier

Mess gets messier

In a move that further complicates the conflict in Syria, the US has fired dozens of cruise missiles at a Syrian government-controlled airbase in retaliation for the recent chemical weapons attack that killed at least 86 people, including 27 children, in a rebel-held town in Idlib province. This marks the first direct military action that the US has taken against the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the course of the six-year conflict. This also comes after Washington recently indicated that it wasn't focussed on Assad's ouster any more. But President Donald Trump indicated a possible American policy U-turn after the chemical attack, accusing Assad of crossing several red lines. There's no denying that the images of the Syrian chemical attack victims were gut wrenching. But unfortunately use of chemical agents in war hasn't been rare, despite international conventions banning it such as the 1925 Geneva Protocol. The US itself used the destructive chemical defoliant Agent Orange during the Vietnam war, the effects of which are still suffered by three generations of Vietnamese. Seen in this context, chemical weapons comprise a deadly arsenal of war that can only be prohibited through preventing conflict itself.
But the latest US action in Syria widens the vector of destruction.Washington now finds itself in a position where it is fighting both the Islamic State terror group and government forces. This makes smoothing out contradictions in the Syrian puzzle even more difficult. Assad, after all, is supported by Russia with whom the current US administration wants to strike up a cordial working relationship. Meanwhile, Turkey ¬ a Nato ally ¬ supports rebel groups against Assad but is allergic towards the Kurds whom the US supports. Against this backdrop, the latest US military action makes the Syrian mess worse.