The United States could be set to launch air strikes against Syria as soon as tonight, with a Tomahawk missile-armed destroyer already in place.
“The USS Donald Cook, a destroyer armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles, has arrived off the coast of Syria, and is being “harassed” by low-flying Russian fighter jets,” tweeted Jacob Wohl, citing Turkish media reports.
The destroyer is reportedly only 100 kilometers from the Russian naval base in Tartus.
This confirms MINA’s earlier reporting in which we revealed that the USS Donald Cook was “in position for any military action within Syria”.
The U.S. Navy lied and denied that the USS Donald Cook is situated off the coast of Syria, but refused to confirm its location or where it was headed next. Turkish jets as well spotted the USS Donald Cook off the Syrian coastline.
As we reported earlier, the USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer which was previously deployed to Libya after the Benghazi attack, is also in close proximity as is the USS Georgia submarine. The British RAF has also dispatched an aircraft used to refuel fighter jets to the region.
According to Sky News reporter Mark Austin, “The tone of US Ambassador to UN suggests military strikes are a done deal. The problem is where that leads? So many rival players, and interests. Hugely dangerous moment.”
Earlier today, President Trump said that he would make a decision on how to respond to the chemical weapons attack in Douma on Saturday within 48 hours. Despite there having been no cursory investigation of what happened, the Trump administration has already blamed the Syrian government for the atrocity.
According to the former director of UN weapons inspectors in Syria Åke Sellström, Syria leader Bashar Al-Assad had zero motive whatsoever for using chemical weapons, adding the event was likely staged as a pretext for aggression against Syria.
Update: Moscow has dispatched an A-50 early warning aircraft along the Syrian coastline to monitor moves of the US and British navies.
