Mattis Reportedly Wanted Congressional Approval for Syria Strikes But Trump Overruled Him

Tamar AuberApr 18th, 2018, 11:03 am

Before the Friday night strikes on Syria, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis had encouraged President Donald Trump to seek Congressional approval for the attacks.

Yet, according to a New York Times report, Trump just couldn’t wait that long and decided to go ahead with the strikes anyhow.

As a compromise, in lieu of the “sustained response until the Syrian regime stops” that Trump talked about in his Friday night address to the nation, limited strikes on three Syrian targets were ordered instead.

According to Iraqi War veteran Jon Soltz, the Friday show of force showed just enough military might for Trump to save face without provoking Russia.

“The strike was really just enough to cover the president politically, but not enough to spark a war with the Russians,” Soltz, chairman of the liberal veterans group VoteVets, told the Times. “It was clear the military had tight constraints on the operation, and that everybody in the military seemed to know that except the president.”

Even with the smaller strikes, however, Trump’s insistence on acting without Congressional approval was immediately met by cries from Capitol Hill––even from some Republicans––that his actions were “unacceptable” and beyond the scope of his presidential authority.

While Bashar al-Assad must be held accountable for his unlawful use of chemical weapons against civilians, the strikes that are being carried out are being done without an authorization from Congress, which is unacceptable

— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) April 14, 2018

I haven’t read France’s or Britain’s “Constitution,” but I’ve read ours and no where in it is Presidential authority to strike Syria.

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) April 14, 2018

On Tuesday, Mattis met with lawmakers who continued to express concerns about Trump’s decision to act without Congressional approval.

Yet, while it now seems clear that Mattis disagreed with Trump’s decision, the Defense Secretary not only defended the raid to Congress but is also publicly dismissing the idea that the limited raid amounted to little more than a publicity stunt for Trump.

“The French, the United Kingdom, the United States, allies, all NATO allies, we worked together to maintain the prohibition on the use of chemical weapons,” Mattis said at the Pentagon, the Times reported. “We did what we believe was right under international law, under our nation’s laws.”

[featured image via screengrab]

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