Trump's Missile Strike

            I do not like war, and I would prefer to live in a world with total peace. However, I live in reality and know that the world will not be at peace until the Prince of Peace returns. I realize that evil people live in this world, and I also realize that good people must keep evil under control. Otherwise, we end up with situations like Hitler killing six million Jews and other such despots.

            In a free society the people are responsible to choose good leaders. However, there are millions and billions of people in the world who are not free to choose. It is under those circumstances that the truthfulness of this scripture is obvious: “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn” (Proverbs 29:2).

            The people of Syria and other nations in the Middle East and other places in the world have been living under terrible conditions for years. Some of them have been begging for help from the United States. Barack Obama was blind to their suffering, but Donald Trump was not.

On April 6, 2017, President Trump sent a message to Syrian President Bashar Assad. He ordered a cruise missile strike against the airfield in Syria. It is believed that airplanes launched a chemical attack against civilians in Syria from that airfield. The strike has been described as “an appropriate, proportional, and carefully calibrated response” to Syria’s repeated chemical attacks.

            The behavior of President Assad was unacceptable and has been for several years. President Trump decided that the bad behavior had gone on long enough, and he took action. The missile strike basically told Assad that it is never a good thing to gas innocent women and children. Assad, of course, is belligerent, and he has the apparent support of Russia, Iran, and a few other rebellious nations. At the same time, there are many other nations who are supportive Trump’s action. Russia and Iran are making threats, but President Trump is not backing down.

            Only the future will tell the final results of this missile strike. It may lead to nothing, but it may lead to World War III. Nobody knows. I hope that good comes of the strike. Whatever happens, I am relieved to know that we now have a President of the United States who is not afraid to act, to be a leader. Whether his decision was right or wrong, at least he made a decision based on the best counsel he could find. His action made the world stand back and notice that the United States has a leader who is willing to take charge of the situation and to be the leader of the free world. For this fact alone, I am grateful for the decision made by Donald Trump.