(Financial Times-UK) John Reed and Simeon Kerr - Arab states and Israel on Friday applauded the overnight U.S. missile strike on an airbase in Syria, welcoming what they saw as an overdue show of resolve against the Assad regime and its main foreign patrons, Iran and Russia. Officials in the Gulf states and Israel said that they believed President Trump was drawing a line of deterrence against hitherto unchecked Iranian and Russian-backed militarism in the region. Across the Arab world, trending media posted on Twitter on Friday included songs celebrating the airstrikes. "America strikes the regime of Bashar" was a popular hashtag in Saudi Arabia. "We're only at the beginning of this military response, but I think President Trump has gone a long way to restoring American credibility in the Middle East," said Dore Gold, a former close adviser to Mr. Netanyahu and head of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
2017-04-07 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive