Nach Giftgas-Angriff in Syrien: US-Militärschlag (Update)

Update: Nach einem Angriff mit chemischen Kampfstoffen in der syrischen Provinz Idlib am vergangenen Dienstag, bei dem das Giftgas Sarin eingesetzt wurde, haben die USA am (heutigen) Donnerstag eine Militärbasis in Syrien mit Marschflugkörpern angegriffen. Aus Sicht der US-Regierung besteht kein Zweifel, dass die syrische Regierung für den Kampfstoff-Angriff verantwortlich ist.

Aus dem Bericht auf der Seite des US-Verteidigungsministeriums dazu:

The United States fired Tomahawk missiles into Syria today in retaliation for the regime of Bashar Assad using nerve agents to attack his own people.

President Donald J. Trump ordered the attack on Al-Shayrat Air Base, the base from which the chemical attack on Syria’s Idlib province was launched. The missiles were launched from U.S. Navy ships in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
The attack is in retaliation for the Syrian dictator for using banned chemical agents in the April 4 attack.

Die U.S. Navy veröffentlichte mehr Details der Operation:

At the direction of the president, U.S. forces conducted a cruise missile strike against a Syrian Air Force airfield today at about 8:40 p.m. EDT (4:40 a.m., April 7, in Syria). The strike targeted Shayrat Airfield in Homs governorate, and was in response to the Syrian government’s chemical weapons attack April 4 in Khan Sheikhoun, which killed or injured hundreds of innocent Syrian people, including women and children.
The strike was conducted using Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAMs) launched from the destroyers USS Porter and USS Ross in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. A total of 59 TLAMs targeted aircraft, hardened aircraft shelters, petroleum and logistical storage, ammunition supply bunkers, air defense systems, and radars. As always, the U.S. took extraordinary measures to avoid civilian casualties and to comply with the Law of Armed Conflict. Every precaution was taken to execute this strike with minimal risk to personnel at the airfield.
The strike was a proportional response to Assad’s heinous act. Shayrat Airfield was used to store chemical weapons and Syrian air forces. The U.S. intelligence community assesses that aircraft from Shayrat conducted the chemical weapons attack on April 4. The strike was intended to deter the regime from using chemical weapons again.
Russian forces were notified in advance of the strike using the established deconfliction line. U.S. military planners took precautions to minimize risk to Russian or Syrian personnel located at the airfield.
We are assessing the results of the strike. Initial indications are that this strike has severely damaged or destroyed Syrian aircraft and support infrastructure and equipment at Shayrat Airfield, reducing the Syrian Government’s ability to deliver chemical weapons. The use of chemical weapons against innocent people will not be tolerated.

Nach dem US-Angriff bleiben erst recht offene Fragen – ist dieser erste direkte Angriff der USA auf Syrien ein einmaliger Vergeltungsschlag, oder folgt daraus weiteres? Werden die USA ihre Erkenntnisse über die Verantwortung des syrischen Regimes für einen Sarin-Einsatz mit anderen Nationen teilen? Die Geschichte entwickelt sich weiter.

Nachtrag: Die Bundesregierung teilt offensichtlich die Ansicht der USA, dass die syrische Regierung für den Chemiewaffenangriff verantwortlich ist. Aus der Erklärung von Außenminister Sigmar Gabriel:

Es war kaum erträglich mit ansehen zu müssen, dass der Weltsicherheitsrat nicht in der Lage war, klar und eindeutig auf den barbarischen Einsatz chemischer Waffen gegen unschuldige Menschen in Syrien zu reagieren. Dass die Vereinigten Staaten jetzt mit einem Angriff gegen die militärischen Strukturen des Assad-Regimes reagiert haben, von denen dieses grausame Kriegsverbrechen ausging, ist nachvollziehbar.
Giftgas ist eine international geächtete Waffe. Darin ist sich die Weltgemeinschaft einig. So nachvollziehbar nach dem Versagen des Weltsicherheitsrats der Militäreinsatz der USA gegen die militärische Infrastruktur auch war, so entscheidend ist es jetzt, zu gemeinsamen Friedensbemühungen unter dem Dach der UN zu kommen.

Der Angriff hatte sich bereits am gestrigen Donnerstagabend abgezeichnet:

Washington Post: Trump weighing military options following chemical weapons attack in Syria

The Trump administration is weighing military retaliation against the Syrian government following a chemical attack Tuesday that killed scores of civilians, but it is complicated by the presence of Russian forces in the country and concerns about U.S. troops deployed in Syria in the campaign against the Islamic State, according to U.S. officials.
The Pentagon is in the process of presenting options to the White House on potential military responses, which could include strikes on Syrian military targets and actions designed to ground the Syrian air force.

New York Times: U.S. Said to Weigh Military Responses to Syrian Chemical Attack

Senior Defense Department officials are developing options for a military strike in response to the Syrian government’s chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of civilians on Tuesday, officials said on Thursday. (…)
American intelligence has established with high confidence that a Syrian government aircraft carried out the attack, a senior American official said.

Foreign Policy: After Chemical Weapons Attack, Trump Weighs Strikes on Assad Regime

The White House is weighing strikes against the Syrian regime in response to a chemical weapons attack earlier this week that killed at least 70 civilians in Idlib province, which President Donald Trump said on Wednesday had changed his thinking about U.S. policy in the war-torn country.
But shifting the ongoing U.S. military effort in Syria to target the regime of Bashar al Assad and his forces, rather than the Islamic State, would be legally and operationally tricky. Syria’s air defenses are robust, and existing legal authorities to fight Islamist terrorists likely wouldn’t apply to a sovereign state like Syria.

Dazu passend: Ein Imbiss in der U-Bahn-Station am Pentagon hat angekündigt, dass er jetzt 24 Stunden geöffnet bleibt, wie die CNN-Journalistin Barbara Starr bemerkte…

(Foto: MEDITERRANEAN SEA – USS Ross (DDG 71) fires a tomahawk land attack missile April 7, 2017 – U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Robert S. Price)