U.S. allies endorse Syria strikes as 'necessary and appropriate'

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday joined British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron in endorsing the overnight U.S.-led strikes on Syria. Merkel said the attack was "necessary and appropriate, to ensure the effectiveness of the international ban of chemical weapons use and to warn the Syrian regime of further attempts."

Another strike could happen, said the French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, if the "red line is crossed again" with another chemical attack. France declassified an intelligence report supporting "beyond possible doubt" Washington's allegation that the Syrian regime was responsible for chemical weapons use last week.

Canada, Israel, Turkey, the European Union, and NATO also announced support for the strikes, while the United Nations both condemned chemical weapons and urged U.S. restraint. China called for diplomacy, and Iraq warned of unintended consequences.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, who condemned the U.S. strikes, has called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council "to discuss aggressive actions of the U.S. and its allies," an effort unlikely to produce any meaningful censure of the strikes given their coordination by three permanent council members, the U.S., U.K., and France.