UPDATE 1430 GMT: I just spoke with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. An extract from the interview, “I’ll be blunt. Russia is lying”:


UPDATE 1130 GMT: I also spoke with Julia Hartley-Brewer of London’s talkRADIO about the issues about the Assad chemical attacks and possible responses.

Listen from 6:56 in the 0630-0700 Segment


I joined George Howell on CNN International on Monday morning to talk about latest events in Syria, beginning with the Assad regime’s chemical attacks on Douma near Damascus.

The discussion takes in Israel’s missile strikes on a regime base, with Iranian personnel, in central Syria. Then it focuses on whether or not the US will make a coherent response to the Assad regime’s latest assaults, backed by Russia.

It’s one thing to lash out on Twitter. It’s another to make plans. So the question is not as much “What is Donald Trump doing?” as “What is the Pentagon doing?” as it presents the plans to him….

I think the Pentagon will give options to strike the Assad regime’s military facilities, including airbases. The broader option is whether the US will join others — as it could have done six years ago — in providing protected areas for civilians in locations outside regime control.

See also TrumpWatch, Day 444: Assad’s Chemical Attacks Scuttle Trump’s “Withdrawal” Talk — But Will US Respond?
Israel Again Attacks Regime Airbase and Iranian Personnel in Central Syria
Syria Daily, April 8: 85+ Killed in Regime Chemical Attacks on Douma