Syria Attacks Seen As Test Between U.S. and Russia on Who is the Dominant Power in Mideast
Last week's twin events that shook the world—Syrian President Assad's suspected chemical weapons attack that killed more than 80 people and President Trump's retaliatory multiple missile strike—were part of a test between Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
That was the view shared by author and Middle East expert Joel Rosenberg in an interview with CBN News.
"It's not just about Syria. This is a test between the United States and Russia over who is the dominant power, the guiding power in the Middle East today," said Rosenberg, the author of the new political thriller, "Without Warning."
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He said Trump's swift military response was the correct course of action.
"These are war crimes and the president had to move. He has to reassert American leadership. We are the only superpower on the planet and we have not acted like that in the last eight years—we have almost no credibility in the Middle East and that's why Russia, Iran, Assad, ISIS all feel like they can act with impunity," Rosenberg said.
He said Assad's use of banned chemical weapons against enemies of his regime proved that Putin was lying to former U.S. President Barack Obama when he said that he would force Assad to remove all his chemical weapons stockpile.
Rosenberg said Trump's decision to order a U.S. military strike on Syria sends a message not just to Assad, but to Putin as well.
"...We are the world's superpower and there is a new sheriff in town. I think there is a sense among Israeli leaders and among Sunni Arab leaders that the tide is turning, that the United States is back," he said.
In his blog, Rosenberg explains further that what Trump needs to do is to "explain American national security interests in Syria, his goals for protecting U.S. interests, and then work closely with his national security advisors to develop a realistic game plan."
He said the U.S. must not fall into the trap of trying to end the civil war in Syria, which, he said, is "imploding."
"Washington can't stop that. But the U.S. also must not allow terror states to use weapons of mass destruction with impunity, nor let the Russians and Iranians set up a new terror base camp on Israel's northeastern borders," Rosenberg says.
Notable columnist Charles Krauthammer also said that what Trump did is not just to tell the world that "there's a new sheriff in town" but that "there is a sheriff in town."
"There was an absence for eight years. America is back, and you're not allowed to do whatever you want. That, in and of itself, is going to have a big effect," he said in a Fox News interview.
