4/16/2018

NATIONAL SECURITY/SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump deferred to his Pentagon chief’s caution and tempered his preference for a more robust attack on Syria over allegations it used deadly gas on civilians, the first hints at the direction of his revamped national-security team. The decision late last week, detailed by people familiar with the process, marked the first substantive test of the group now that John Bolton is serving as Mr. Trump’s national security adviser. After days of tense White House meetings, the president and his advisers agreed on one of the most restrained of the military-strike options crafted by the Pentagon: a powerful missile attack aimed at three targets meant to hobble the Syrian regime’s ability to use chemical weapons and deter President Bashar al-Assad from using them again.”

Gordon Lubold and Dion Nissenbaum, “Trump Bowed to Pentagon Restraint on Syria Strikes,” The Wall Street Journal, April 16, 2018 10:42 am