Last week, Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, ordered a deadly nerve agent to be sprayed on the public in Syria, which caused much outrage throughout the world. It killed dozens of civilians and injured hundreds of others. In response, president Donald Trump fired 59 Tomahawk missiles on the air base where the chemicals were carried by the warplanes that sprayed the gas on the people.

Donald Trump justified the bombing, saying, “It is in this vital national security of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons,” adding that “Syria used banned chemical weapons, violated its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and ignored the urging of the UN Security Council.”

The chemical used on the people was sarin gas, a colorless, odorless liquid that is capable of mass destruction. It was classified as a Schedule 1 substance and outlawed in April 1997 in the Chemical Weapons Convention. Sarin gas was used on the people of Syria last week, and Donald Trump decided to take matters into the hands of the US government.

How did DHS react?

The Dublin Shield interviewed several students on their response to the incident, receiving a variety of reactions.

Sophomore Sumedh V. responded in support of this bombing, saying, “What Bashar al-Assad was really messed up, and while Trump’s actions can be really weird and erratic, I’m happy that the chemical base got bombed.”

Freshman Sebastian M. A. disagrees with Trump’s decision, and believed that, “The gas attack that happened in Syria was bad, and really sad, but bombing Syria really just made things worse in our relationship.”