Trump vows quick action in response to suspected chemical attack in Syria

Trump told a meeting with military leaders and national security advisers he would make a decision by Monday night “or very shortly thereafter” on a response, adding that the United States had “a lot of options militarily” on Syria.

“But we can’t let atrocities like we all witnessed ... we can’t let that happen in our world ... especially when we’re able to because of the power of the United States, the power of our country, we’re able to stop it.”

The suspected chemical weapons attack late on Saturday killed at least 60 people, with more than 1,000 injured at several sites in Douma, a city near the capital, Damascus, according to a Syrian aid organization.

Initial U.S. assessments have been unable to determine conclusively what materials were used in the attack and could not say with certainty that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government forces were behind it.

Trump said, however, that Washington was “getting more clarity” on who was responsible for the attack.

U.S. officials told Reuters that Washington was weighing a multinational military response.

For the second time in less than 24 hours, Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by telephone to coordinate their response, the White House said.

Macron and Trump had again reiterated their desire for a “strong reaction” from the international community, Macron’s office said.

Asked at a cabinet meeting earlier on Monday if Russian President Vladimir Putin bore any responsibility for the attack, Trump said: “He may, yeah, he may. And if he does, it’s going to be very tough, very tough.”

On Sunday, Trump, who had sought warmer relations with Russia, criticized Putin by name on Twitter as he castigated Russia and Iran for backing “Animal Assad.”

The U.S. envoy to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said Washington “will respond” to the attack regardless of whether the U.N. Security Council acts.

Moscow said it warned the United States of “grave repercussions” if it carried out an attack against Syrian government forces.

The Syrian government and its ally Russia have denied involvement in the attack.

International bodies led by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) were trying to establish exactly what happened in Douma, a rebel-held town in the eastern Ghouta district.

Syrian government forces had launched an air and ground assault on Douma, the last town held by rebels in eastern Ghouta, on Friday.

END