Then there is North Korea, which keeps testing missiles, including one this week in advance of Trump’s meeting with President Xi Jinping of China, a clear message
that North Korea continues its weapons program unbowed by pressure from America or China.
When asked Wednesday during a news conference with King Abdullah II of Jordan whether the chemical
attack this week crossed a “red line,” Trump said: “It crossed a lot of lines for me.
When you kill innocent children, innocent babies, babies, little babies, with a chemical gas
that is so lethal, people were shocked to hear what gas it was, that crosses many many lines, beyond a red line.
During the news conference, a reporter asked:
“If I may, Mr. President: You know very well that the Iranian militias
and Hezbollah have been propping the Syrian regime for a while, over a few years now.
In any case, this week Trump told The Financial Times, “If China is not going to solve North Korea, we will.”
This seemed to signal the possibility of unilateral action of some kind, but the form is not clear.
Just days after the Trump administration shockingly signaled a softer stance on President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, Assad — possibly
emboldened by America’s reversed course — unleashed an atrocious chemical attack on his own people, killing dozens.
The reporter had to point out the ridiculousness of the answer: “But sir, I’m talking about
the Iranian militias in Syria supporting the Syrian regime, separate of the nuclear deal.