INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Syria strike: Theresa May said the air strike was "limited and targeted" (Reuters)London: British Prime
Minister Theresa May said on Saturday she had authorised British forces to conduct precision strikes against Syria to degrade its chemical
weapons capability, saying there was no alternative to military action.The strike, conducted with the United States and France, was "limited
and targeted", designed to minimise any civilian casualties, May said."This is not about intervening in a civil war
It is not about regime change," May said in a statement.She said the attack was a response to the use of chemical weapons in Douma in Syria
that killed up to 75 people including children and added Britain and its allies had sought to use every diplomatic means to stop the use of
chemical weapons."But our efforts have been repeatedly thwarted
Even this week the Russians vetoed a Resolution at the UN Security Council which would have established an independent investigation into
the Douma attack," she said."So there is no practicable alternative to the use of force to degrade and deter the use of chemical weapons by
the Syrian Regime.Britain's Ministry of Defence said four Tornado jets using Storm Shadow missiles had taken part in the attack which had
been designed to target a military facility where it was assessed Syria had stockpiled chemicals. Syria air strikes: US President Donald
Trump said the Syrian regime attacks "crimes of a monster""Very careful scientific analysis was applied to determine where best to target
the Storm Shadows to maximise the destruction of the stockpiled chemicals and to minimise any risks of contamination to the surrounding
area," the MoD said in a statement."The facility which was struck is located some distance from any known concentrations of civilian
habitation, reducing yet further any such risk."May said while the strike was targeted at Syria, it sent a message to anyone who used
Britain has accused Russia of being behind a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in England last month, a charge Moscow has
rejected."This is the first time as prime minister that I have had to take the decision to commit our armed forces in combat - and it is not
a decision I have taken lightly," she said."I have done so because I judge this action to be in Britain's national interest
We cannot allow the use of chemical weapons to become normalised - within Syria, on the streets of the UK, or anywhere else in our
world."Many politicians in Britain, including some in May's own Conservative Party, had called for parliament to be recalled from a break to
give authority to any military strike.Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had said Britain should press for an independent U.N.-led
investigation into the suspected chemical attack in Douma rather than wait for instructions from the U.S
President Donald Trump on how to proceed.© Thomson Reuters 2018(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by staff and is
published from a syndicated feed.)
