US lawmakers demand details of broader Syria strategy

US lawmakers from both parties today backed President Donald Trump’s cruise missile strikes on Syria, but commanded he spell out a broader strategy for dealing with the conflict and consult with Congress on any further action.

Trump ordered the firing of cruise missiles at a Syrian air base that US officials said was the launching point for a deadly chemical weapons attack against Syrian nearly 100 civilians this week, the majority children.

The strike was well planned, well executed, it was certainly more than a pinprick, and sends a message … to Assad that using chemical weapons again is not something he can do with impunity

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told a news conference.

US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in Washington, USA on 7 April 2017. [Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency]

McConnell said Vice President Mike Pence had called him to explain the rationale for the strikes in one of a series of calls by top administration officials to members of Congress that began shortly before the strikes.

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Democratic Senator Mark Warner, the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, called him after the strikes.

I am hopeful these strikes will convince the Assad regime that such actions should never be repeated

Warner said in a statement, referring to the government of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.

​”President Trump needs to articulate a coherent strategy for dealing with this complex conflict, because the consequences of a misstep are grave,” Warner said in a statement.

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The strike does not indicate that the US’ operations against Daesh in Syria and Iraq are changing, an official confirmed.