On the chemical attack. Maybe I’m totally off base and I am certainly not educated enough about Syria. Could some chemical weapon accidentally get mixed in with regular munitions? It just seems that Assad would know that a deliberate chemical attack would land him in deep water with the leaders of the world (and a bunch of missiles). General Mattis wasn’t sure yesterday/day before(?) then he’s certain. I’m not even saying they are wrong, just gotta hear what their of evidence
Assad uses chemical weapons because he has them. Why not? Aside from the fact that he's a first class dick, he's got the Russians backing him up, and he knows any Western response is going to be limited to cruise missiles or other stand-off PGMs. So far, he's even been given the time to evacuate targeted facilities. What's a few empty buildings getting flattened when he's been at war for seven years?
Trump announced that he wanted to pull the US contingent out. That was in late March. The chemical attack on Douma came a week or so later.
Assad doesn't give a shit what the leaders of the world think. Neither did his father. If Assad lost the support of Russia, things would be much different, but that's not going to happen...The Russians have been deeply invested and entrenched in Syria since the Cold War.
