News Analysis: ‘Mission Accomplished!’ But What Is the Mission in Syria?
‘Mission Accomplished!’ But What Is the Mission in Syria? Photo President Trump at the White House on Friday. Mr. Trump tweeted “Mission Accomplished!” the morning after the attacks in Syria. Credit Tom Brenner/The New York Times WASHINGTON — On the morning after, President Trump declared success. The surgical strike against chemical weapons facilities in Syria had been executed perfectly, he said on Saturday. “Mission Accomplished!” he wrote on Twitter.
That’s a phrase presidents and politicians have studiously avoided since President George W. Bush’s ill-fated aircraft carrier visit prematurely declaring success in the Iraq war. But aside from the curious choice of words, it raised the essential question regarding Syria going beyond the one-time strike: What exactly is the mission?
For most of Mr. Trump’s presidency, it has been to defeat the Islamic State and then get out. But what Mr. Trump outlined in his televised speech to the nation on Friday night was something more complicate..