McCain: Trump 'emboldened' Assad days before suspected chemical attack by saying he wanted to withdraw US troops from Syria

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April 9, 2018 2:51 AM

Trump said last week he wants to "get out" of Syria and bring US troops home.

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On Sunday, US Senator John McCain criticized President Donald Trump for recently saying he is in favor of
McCain said the president's words "emboldened" Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

US Senator John McCain on Sunday criticized President Donald Trump for recently saying he is in favor of pulling US troops out of Syria.

McCain said Trump's comments, that he wants to "get out" of Syria and "bring our troops home," emboldened Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to launch a suspected chemical attack against civilians on Saturday.

"President Trump last week signaled to the world that the United States would prematurely withdraw from Syria," McCain, who is also the

"Bashar Assad and his Russian and Iranian backers have heard him, and emboldened by American inaction, Assad has reportedly launched another chemical attack against innocent men, women and children, this time in Douma.

According to reports, at least 40 people suffocated to death and hundreds more were injured from a suspected chemical attack in the rebel-held town of Douma in eastern Ghouta on Saturday. Some estimates put the death toll closer to 150.

Local pro-opposition group Ghouta Media Center said the attack was carried out by a helicopter, which dropped a barrel bomb containing sarin gas. The US State Department confirmed reports of the attack and "a potentially high number of casualties" on Saturday.

Graphic images from the attack have been posted on social media.

President Trump was quick to call out Assad for the violence in atweet

McCain said the president needs to "act decisively" in his response to Assad's alleged involvement in the chemical attack, and to "demonstrate that Assad will pay a price for his war crimes."

Some US lawmakers have called on the president to respond militarily to the use of chemical weapons, and have suggested a "targeted attack" on chemical weapons facilities.

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