10 things you need to know today: April 14, 2018

U.S. launches strikes on Syria in response to suspected chemical attack, Russia denounces 'treacherous and insane' Syria strikes, and more

Damascus, Syria, during U.S. missile strikes Friday
(Image credit: Hassan Ammar/The Associated Press)

1. U.S. launches strikes on Syria in response to suspected chemical attack

The U.S. launched a series of strikes in Syria targeting chemical weapons facilities, President Trump announced Friday night. The military attack was ordered in coordination with France and the U.K. in response to what the U.S. believes was a chemical attack by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last week. The Syrian government is accused of deploying chemical weapons against civilians in eastern Ghouta. "The purpose of our action tonight is to establish a strong deterrent" against the use of chemical weapons, Trump said in a statement, adding that the strikes would continue until "the Syrian regime stops its use of prohibited chemical agents." CNN reports that the Syrian military shot down missiles targeting Damascus.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Bonnie Kristian

Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.