Analyst, Syrian opposition figure share mixed reaction to U.S. attack on Syria

Record ID: 559722

  • Title: Analyst, Syrian opposition figure share mixed reaction to U.S. attack on Syria
  • Date: 7th April 2017
  • Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (APRIL 7, 2017) (REUTERS) WIDE OF BASSMA KODMANI, SYRIAN OPPOSITION'S HIGH NEGOTIATIONS COMMITTEE MEMBER, SEATED DURING REUTERS INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (English) BASSMA KODMANI, SYRIAN OPPOSITION'S HIGH NEGOTIATIONS COMMITTEE MEMBER, SAYING: "If the language of force is the only language that Assad understands, or that the only way to convey a message to Mr. Putin, so be it. I think this is the message from this strike. Will they get the message after there is these statements of outrage, public outrage? I believe that Mr. Putin will, if he is a responsible leader, will think twice before he undertakes any new provocation by allowing the regime to do so, or doing it through his own air force, or military means." CLOSE-UP OF KODMANI DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (English) BASSMA KODMANI, SYRIAN OPPOSITION'S HIGH NEGOTIATIONS COMMITTEE MEMBER, SAYING: "This is an airbase, a military airbase, serviced by people who are attached to the military airbase. And as you know, the Russian officers on the ground were informed of the attack beforehand, and they evacuated a few hours before. So we're speaking here of a legitimate military target, which was clearly identified as the airbase from which that aircraft took off full of sarin gas -- chemical weapons -- and that went off to the Idlib province, to Khan Sheikhoun, to target civilians. Now if that is not a legitimate target I don't know what is a legitimate target."
  • Embargoed: 21st April 2017 20:39
  • Keywords: Michael E. O’Hanlon Syria Reuters attack U.S. President Donald Trump Syrian opposition figure Bassma Kodmani Brookings
  • Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES; AT SEA
  • City: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES; AT SEA
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
  • Reuters ID: LVA0066BEK7D3
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Michael O'Hanlon described the U.S. launch of dozens on missiles on a Syrian airbase as "justifiable" but on "uncertain legal foundation."
    "The United States had the right to intervene both to essentially exercise retribution against those Syrian violations, and to protect our standard; the nonuse of weapons of mass destruction, which Trump sees as crucial to American security, no matter where it might happen," the foreign policy expert told Reuters Video News in Washington on Friday (April 7).
    The U.S. military launched dozens of Tomahawk missiles from the USS Porter and USS Ross warships in the Mediterranean Sea that hit the airstrip, aircraft and fuel stations of the Shayrat air base, which the Pentagon says was used to store chemical weapons.
    The American strikes were in reaction to what Washington says was a poison gas attack by the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad this week that killed at least 70 people in rebel-held territory.
    Bassma Kodmani, a members of the Syrian Opposition's High Negotiations Committee in Washington for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told Reuters the attack struck "a legitimate target." Kodmani said the missile launch struck an airbase responsible for a sarin gas attack that killed at least 70 Syrians. "If that is not a legitimate target I don't know what is," she said.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register