United against evil: Trump sends Syria -- and the world -- a clear message

We sincerely hope, with the steps taken against Syria and the Bashar Al-Assad regime in the wake of the recent chemical attacks, that a new era is being forged in the Trump presidency.

And no, it has nothing to do with him being a tough guy, a man of his word or a war hawk.

We'll leave those character assessments, whether viewed positively or negatively by the masses, to the television networks.

Our hope is that by aligning himself with the U.K. and France to accomplish his goal of letting Syria know where the world stands, Trump has, for a change, communicated a clear and yet unified message.

Say what you will about acting without Congressional consent or that his intention was a mere ploy to distract his detractors from the ongoing Russia probe or the "chaos" in the West Wing.

The chemical attacks could not go unchecked. The world needed to, and now has, spoken collectively that such crimes against humanity will not go unpunished anywhere in the world, regardless of who -- in this case Russia -- is behind the bad actor if not the bad act itself.

If the president has learned anything from this experience, we hope it is that our allies are a necessity, not a luxury, not a utensil for leverage in trade negotiations.

Where we might disagree on policy or even principles, when it comes to how other world leaders govern their nations, our nation's leaders govern our own. When the kind of evil seen time and again in Syria rears its head, it must be met with a collective slap across the face.

We, meaning civilized human beings of all races, ethnicity, economic status or religious practices, will not stand idly by while atrocities against civilians, specifically women and children, are committed.

We hope this was the president's intent all along and that he takes from this experience the knowledge that we are stronger united with our friends than we are alone against our enemies.

Published in Editorials on April 14, 2018 10:05 PM