An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
"From the latest edition of the DEBKAfile newsletter some details regarding a threatened use of chemical agents by those forces loyal to Assad of Syria. Preparations for the use of chemicals evidently observed in advance and an appropriate warning issued by American authorities. Chemical attack averted!! So is the allegation.
1. "US sternly warns Assad against chemical attack"
27 June
"Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Monday night that the US 'has identified potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime that would likely result in the mass murder of civilians, including innocent children.'"
2. "Haley: Russia and Iran to share blame for any chemical attacks by Assad"
27 June.
"The US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley declared on Twitter that any chemical weapons attack by Bashar Assad's Syrian government on his own citizens 'will be blamed on Assad but also on Russia and Iran who support him killing his own people.'"
3. "Macron agrees to work with Trump against a new Assad chemical attack"
27 June.
In a phone call Tuesday, President Emmanuel Macron told President Donald Trump that Paris could launch unilateral air strikes against targets in Syria in their common response to a new chemical attack in Syria.
4. "US may preempt an Assad chemical strike in Syria"
27 June.
"Signs were gathering in Washington and the Middle East Tuesday, June 26 that the Trump administration was preparing a substantial military operation against the Syrian army and Bashar Assad's allies, such as the foreign pro-Iranian Shiite militias and Hizballah. Some US military sources suggested that an American preemptive strike was in store in the coming hours to prevent Assad's army from again resorting to chemical warfare against his people."
5. "US prevented imminent Syrian chemical weapon attack: Mattis"
28 June.
"The regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad halted preparations for its latest chemical weapon attack after Washington warned Damascus that it would pay a heavy price for such a strike, American Defense Secretary James Mattis told reporters on Wednesday"
More than mere retaliation was on the table here? "Preemptive strike" as it is referred to was considered and plans made, apparent to all?
coolbert.